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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — a match
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a signal
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. toast — bread
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. field — farmland
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stem — to come from

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