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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. present — a gift
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. field — a subject
  6. stem — to come from
  7. field — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a tool
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. file — a document
  17. season — of the year
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. present — there
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. present — the time now

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