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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. field — farmland
  5. ground — crushed
  6. capital — money
  7. band — a music group
  8. drill — a practice
  9. staff — employees
  10. drill — army training
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ground — a position
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. drill — the tool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. capital — a city
  18. band — a ring
  19. staff — employees
  20. bear — the animal
  21. staff — a stick
  22. field — for sport
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. band — a rubber band

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