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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. field — farmland
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — a position
  9. field — a subject
  10. ground — crushed
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. field — for sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a ring
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. band — a music group
  18. ground — the earth
  19. shower — rain
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. stem — to come from
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. shower — to wash

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