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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. field — for sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. bulb — for light
  12. present — the time now
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. content — happy
  16. present — there
  17. snap — to click
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stem — to come from
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rash — a series
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. present — a gift

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