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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. can — a tin
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. foot — a measure
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. field — for sport
  13. season — in sport
  14. game — a match
  15. can — to be able to
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. field — farmland
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. prune — to trim
  21. can — a tin
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — a kind of play

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