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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stem — to come from
  7. season — of the year
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rest — a break
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — for sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. field — a subject
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rest — what's left
  22. roll — a cake
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. roll — a list

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