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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. land — to come down
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bore — to tire
  6. land — a country
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. wound — an injury
  9. club — a group
  10. field — for sport
  11. tube — a container
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. club — for golf
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bore — to drill
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. tube — the underground
  21. field — farmland
  22. land — ground
  23. stem — to come from
  24. field — a subject

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