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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. mate — a partner
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. rash — hasty
  5. field — a subject
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mate — a friend
  12. field — farmland
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — to come from
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. mate — to breed
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. land — a country
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. land — to come down
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. field — for sport

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