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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — for catching
  5. wake — a trail
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. prune — to trim
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. track — to keep track
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. track — a song
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. stem — to come from
  20. track — a path
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wake — before a funeral

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