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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. field — a subject
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rule — government
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. field — farmland
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — to grow
  15. content — the amount
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rush — to hurry

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