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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. land — a country
  4. field — farmland
  5. stem — to come from
  6. land — ground
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. swing — to play on
  10. field — for sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. field — a subject
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. swing — music
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. swing — in golf
  23. pitch — completely
  24. land — to come down

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