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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. object — a thing
  3. present — there
  4. present — the time now
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. field — farmland
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. present — a gift
  12. object — an aim
  13. key — the most important part
  14. object — to protest
  15. game — wild animals
  16. key — for a lock
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. field — for sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. game — a match
  23. cold — not warm
  24. key — in music

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