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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. field — a subject
  3. current — happening now
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. land — to come down
  6. mate — to breed
  7. file — a line of people
  8. current — of water
  9. pit — in a race
  10. stem — to come from
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a tool
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. file — a document
  15. field — for sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. land — a country
  21. current — electric
  22. land — ground
  23. mate — a partner
  24. field — farmland

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