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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. saw — the tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. file — a line of people
  8. stem — to come from
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a document
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. shower — rain
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. shower — to wash
  21. deal — to handle
  22. field — for sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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