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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rock — a stone
  8. stem — to come from
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. land — to come down
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — a video
  18. field — for sport
  19. land — ground
  20. rock — music
  21. squash — to crush
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. clip — for paper

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