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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. field — for sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. field — farmland
  10. swing — music
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stock — shares
  15. field — a subject
  16. stock — goods
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. swing — to play on
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cell — in biology
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. swing — in golf

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