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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. present — there
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. field — for sport
  7. club — for golf
  8. wax — to grow
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. club — for dancing
  14. present — a gift
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. hand — help
  19. present — the time now
  20. hand — in cards
  21. field — farmland
  22. club — a group
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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