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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. can — a tin
  5. file — a document
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. can — to be able to
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. stem — to come from
  16. can — a tin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lean — to bend
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. file — a tool

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