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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. field — for sport
  3. dip — to sink
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. field — a subject
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rash — a series
  11. content — happy
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stem — to come from
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rash — hasty
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — the amount
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. cell — a phone
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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