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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. staff — employees
  3. prune — to trim
  4. field — farmland
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. present — there
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. staff — employees
  9. field — a subject
  10. cap — a lid
  11. present — a gift
  12. stem — to come from
  13. cap — of ice
  14. net — in sport
  15. staff — a stick
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — for sport
  22. pass — a permit
  23. present — the time now
  24. cap — a hat

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