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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. board — a committee
  11. suit — clothes
  12. suit — in cards
  13. fall — to drop
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. field — for sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. suit — to fit
  20. fall — the season
  21. board — to get on
  22. stem — to come from
  23. field — a subject
  24. fall — to drop

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