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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 116 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stem — to come from
  3. file — a tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. field — for sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. firm — a company
  12. field — farmland
  13. rule — a law
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. file — a document
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rule — government
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — of water
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rule — to rule out

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