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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 120 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: fine · firm · clip · field · shower · pit · season · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — for sport
  3. clip — for paper
  4. field — farmland
  5. shower — to wash
  6. firm — steady
  7. field — a subject
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pit — in a race
  11. shower — rain
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. season — in sport
  14. fine — high quality
  15. firm — decided
  16. season — of the year
  17. clip — a video
  18. firm — a company
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fine — all right
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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