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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rest — what's left
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. rest — what's left
  18. track — a path
  19. row — a line
  20. field — farmland
  21. track — a song
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rest — a break
  24. track — to keep track

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