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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. court — of law
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. present — the time now
  5. capital — money
  6. track — to keep track
  7. present — a gift
  8. field — a subject
  9. present — there
  10. field — farmland
  11. track — a path
  12. club — for golf
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — a city
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. club — a group
  20. field — for sport
  21. track — a song
  22. court — for sport
  23. club — for dancing
  24. stem — a stem cell

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