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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. stem — to come from
  6. last — to go on
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — final
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. race — humankind
  18. mark — a trace
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mark — a grade
  21. field — a subject
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — for sport
  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