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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rock — a stone
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. plane — a tool
  5. present — there
  6. present — the time now
  7. spell — letters
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. present — a gift
  10. spell — a short time
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. field — a subject
  15. stem — to come from
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spell — magic
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — music
  22. field — farmland
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. squash — to crush

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