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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · suit · rash · stem · face · clip · present · land

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — clothes
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. land — a country
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. face — to point toward
  12. present — a gift
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. suit — to fit
  16. face — part of the head
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. field — farmland
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. present — the time now
  24. face — to confront

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