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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mug — a face
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. field — for sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — in sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. field — a subject
  14. season — of the year
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mug — to rob
  18. field — farmland
  19. stem — to come from
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mug — a cup
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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