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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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kick — in football
  3. field — a subject
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cell — a phone
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. rash — a series
  11. row — to paddle
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rash — hasty
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. cell — in biology
  20. perch — the fish
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. row — a line

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