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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. board — a committee
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. field — for sport
  13. mate — a partner
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mate — a friend
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. squash — to crush
  20. board — to get on
  21. field — farmland
  22. face — to confront
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bass — the fish

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