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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — letters
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. field — farmland
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. court — of law
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pitch — completely
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spell — magic
  24. field — for sport

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