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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. stem — to come from
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — farmland
  6. cap — a hat
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lie — to recline
  9. field — for sport
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mine — for digging
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. field — a subject
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rash — hasty
  20. cap — a lid
  21. foot — a measure
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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