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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 124 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. field — farmland
  3. perch — the fish
  4. field — a subject
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — for sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. last — to go on
  11. net — in sport
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — final
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — for catching
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — to protest
  18. mine — for digging
  19. object — a thing
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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