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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. present — the time now
  4. sharp — clever
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spring — the season
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. present — a gift
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spring — of water
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wound — an injury
  20. present — there
  21. wax — to grow
  22. field — a subject
  23. wound — an injury
  24. trunk — of a car

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