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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. ball — a round shape
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — child
  4. land — ground
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. land — to come down
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spell — a short time
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spell — magic
  13. ground — a position
  14. stem — to come from
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ground — the earth
  21. land — a country
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. spell — letters
  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