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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. degree — temperature
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. field — a subject
  12. court — of a king
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. bass — low music
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. bass — the fish
  19. spring — of water
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pass — a permit
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. degree — an amount

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