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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. field — a subject
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. snap — to click
  7. cue — for pool
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. fine — all right
  12. roll — a cake
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bank — of a river
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. field — farmland
  19. bank — for money
  20. roll — a list
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bank — for money
  24. roll — on a roll

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