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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. object — a thing
  3. field — farmland
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. present — a gift
  6. object — to protest
  7. field — for sport
  8. sharp — clever
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. present — the time now
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. fine — all right
  15. pit — a hole
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. object — an aim
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. present — there
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pit — in a race
  22. field — a subject
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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