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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — a subject
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a tool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. file — a line of people
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. file — a document
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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