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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pit — a hole
  3. date — the fruit
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. clip — a video
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stem — to come from
  17. pit — in a race
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. field — a subject
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stem — of a plant

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