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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. field — for sport
  2. rule — government
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — farmland
  6. scale — in music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. rule — a law
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cue — a hint
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. cue — a signal
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cue — for pool
  22. ball — a great time
  23. scale — size or range
  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