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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bass — low music
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mark — a trace
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bass — the fish
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mark — a grade
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. fork — a garden 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