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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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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: lean · dip · cell · tear · land · bowl · stem · field

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. field — a subject
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — to come down
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — ground
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. field — farmland
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cell — in biology
  17. land — a country
  18. lean — thin
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. field — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. lean — to rest against

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