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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mate — a partner
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. bore — to tire
  9. ground — a position
  10. fine — all right
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. mate — to breed
  16. field — a subject
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. stem — to come from
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fine — high quality

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