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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. field — a subject
  5. snap — to click
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pound — a weight
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. season — in sport
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rest — what's left
  14. field — for sport
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rest — what's left
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. kid — child
  20. season — of the year
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. field — farmland
  23. face — to point toward
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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