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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. present — there
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fall — the season
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bank — for money
  9. field — for sport
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. present — a gift
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. field — farmland
  18. wake — a trail
  19. present — the time now
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. fall — to drop

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