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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rest — a break
  3. sharp — clever
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. field — farmland
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — what's left
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fine — all right
  19. field — for sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. field — a subject
  22. last — finally
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. sharp — with an edge

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