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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 116 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: mate · cell · field · perch · present · cold · stem · rock

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rock — a stone
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. perch — the fish
  9. present — the time now
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — a gift
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. field — a subject
  16. present — there
  17. rock — music
  18. field — farmland
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mate — to breed

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