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

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. band — a music group
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. band — a ring
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. field — farmland
  21. pass — a permit
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bark — of a tree

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