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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. scale — size or range
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cell — in biology
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. scale — in music
  18. fall — the season
  19. cold — an illness
  20. field — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — low music
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bowl — a football final

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