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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rush — hurry
  6. race — a contest
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chest — of your body
  13. race — humankind
  14. chest — a box
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — farmland
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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