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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. field — a subject
  3. cap — a hat
  4. field — for sport
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — farmland
  9. mug — to rob
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cap — of ice
  12. tube — a container
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mug — a cup
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cap — a lid

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