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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 124 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bank — for money
  3. spell — letters
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — an aim
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spell — magic
  16. squash — to crush
  17. object — a thing
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. field — a subject
  20. bank — of a river
  21. cap — of ice
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bank — for money

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