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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. field — farmland
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. scale — in music
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. field — for sport
  19. stand — to bear
  20. prune — to trim
  21. suit — clothes
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. stand — for spectators

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