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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. season — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. file — a tool
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. field — a subject
  10. file — a document
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — for sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. object — to protest
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. object — a thing
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stem — to come from
  21. object — an aim
  22. field — farmland
  23. season — of the year
  24. stem — of a plant

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