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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. land — ground
  7. stem — to come from
  8. plane — a tool
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. club — for dancing
  12. land — a country
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. club — a group
  20. tube — a container
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitch — completely
  23. club — for golf
  24. field — farmland

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