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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. field — a subject
  5. spring — of water
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. spring — the season
  12. field — farmland
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pitch — completely
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spring — a coil
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stem — to come from
  24. field — for sport

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