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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. key — for a lock
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cue — a hint
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. spring — of water
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. field — a subject
  16. spring — the season
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. march — the month
  19. cue — for pool
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. field — for sport
  23. key — in music
  24. cue — a signal

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