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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bulb — for light
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. field — farmland
  7. bulb — for light
  8. track — a song
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. spell — a short time
  12. track — a path
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — letters
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. spell — magic
  18. track — to keep track
  19. field — for sport
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. field — a subject

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