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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cap — a hat
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. field — for sport
  21. mate — a friend
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mate — a partner
  24. pitch — completely

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