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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. field — a subject
  4. toast — bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a music group
  8. tear — to rip
  9. field — for sport
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stem — to come from
  13. land — a country
  14. band — a ring
  15. land — ground
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. land — to come down
  21. field — farmland
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tear — from crying

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