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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. swing — music
  4. can — a tin
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. season — of the year
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. field — farmland
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kick — in football
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. season — in sport
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. fork — in a road
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. stem — to come from

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com