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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 124 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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. field — farmland
  3. object — to protest
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spring — a coil
  8. swing — music
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. object — an aim
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fine — high quality
  17. spring — of water
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fine — all right
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. swing — in golf
  22. object — a thing
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stem — a stem cell

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