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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. present — a gift
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. file — a document
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. stem — to come from
  8. present — there
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. field — a subject
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. key — in music
  15. clip — a video
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. field — for sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. present — the time now
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. key — for a lock
  24. clip — to cut

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