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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. stem — to come from
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rest — what's left
  18. capital — money
  19. rest — a break
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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