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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. last — final
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — farmland
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — a match
  17. stem — to come from
  18. field — a subject
  19. last — finally
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. last — to go on
  24. drill — the tool

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