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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mark — a trace
  5. cap — a lid
  6. field — a subject
  7. mark — a grade
  8. field — for sport
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. spell — magic
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spell — letters
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. last — to go on
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. last — finally
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stem — a stem cell

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