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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. mate — to breed
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — a video
  17. wound — an injury
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mate — a partner
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. field — farmland
  24. leaves — to go away

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