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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. suit — clothes
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. suit — to fit
  11. drill — army training
  12. suit — in cards
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stem — to come from
  24. field — farmland

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