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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. court — for sport
  4. fine — high quality
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. field — a subject
  7. rash — hasty
  8. court — of law
  9. saw — the tool
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. field — for sport
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rash — a series
  15. court — of a king
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. fine — all right
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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