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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. roll — a cake
  3. field — for sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. file — a tool
  7. mug — a cup
  8. field — farmland
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chip — to eat
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. kick — in football
  13. mug — a face
  14. file — a document
  15. mug — to rob
  16. stem — to come from
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. roll — a list
  24. stem — a stem cell

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