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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rash — hasty
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — a subject
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. field — farmland
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. kick — in football
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wake — a trail

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