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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. ball — a great time
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — hasty
  6. perch — the fish
  7. ball — a dance
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pop — soda
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — wild animals
  12. field — for sport
  13. rash — a series
  14. pop — music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — farmland
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pop — to visit
  23. field — a subject
  24. ball — a round shape

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