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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. field — farmland
  3. file — a line of people
  4. craft — a skill
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. stem — to come from
  10. land — to come down
  11. rock — music
  12. field — a subject
  13. file — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rock — a stone
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a document
  23. branch — a division
  24. craft — boats

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