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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. field — farmland
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mate — a friend
  5. field — for sport
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. ball — a dance
  8. file — a tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mate — to breed
  18. current — happening now
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. current — of water
  21. mate — a partner
  22. file — a document
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. current — electric

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