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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. current — happening now
  3. content — the amount
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — farmland
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spring — a coil
  11. current — of water
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. current — electric
  16. rest — a break
  17. kick — in football
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — a subject
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — to rip
  23. content — happy
  24. rest — what's left

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