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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. cue — for pool
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. ground — a position
  8. fall — the season
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cap — a lid
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — a subject
  18. cue — a hint
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. court — of law
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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