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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — for sport
  4. last — finally
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bore — to tire
  8. can — to be able to
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — farmland
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. perch — the fish
  20. last — to go on
  21. can — a tin
  22. bore — to drill
  23. can — a tin
  24. stem — a stem cell

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