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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cold — not warm
  5. field — for sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mark — a trace
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cold — an illness
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — a thing
  15. bass — the fish
  16. craft — boats
  17. bass — low music
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. object — an aim
  22. mark — a grade
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mark — to pay attention

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