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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — for sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ball — a great time
  9. staff — employees
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. season — in sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. field — farmland
  22. stem — to come from
  23. staff — employees
  24. stem — of a plant

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