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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mate — a friend
  3. field — farmland
  4. mate — to breed
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. field — a subject
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rash — a series
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. field — for sport
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stem — to come from
  23. row — a line
  24. fork — a garden 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