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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. firm — a company
  6. field — a subject
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. firm — decided
  15. cold — an illness
  16. firm — steady
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. field — farmland
  19. court — of law
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. prune — to trim

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