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

Word bank: rash · pop · fall · cell · tear · stem · swing · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — music
  7. fall — the season
  8. pop — soda
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. swing — to play on
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pop — to visit
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pop — music
  20. field — a subject
  21. swing — in golf
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cell — a phone

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