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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. field — farmland
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. field — for sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. stem — to come from
  11. fine — high quality
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pass — a permit
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fine — all right
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — a line
  22. field — a subject
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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