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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 124 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. last — final
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. band — a ring
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a leader
  8. field — for sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. field — farmland
  17. last — finally
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. band — a music group
  20. last — to go on
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitcher — a jug

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