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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stem — to come from
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. field — farmland
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — for sport
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. last — finally
  17. pass — a permit
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. bulb — for light
  21. last — to go on
  22. sharp — clever
  23. field — a subject
  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