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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: pit · field · firm · content · stem · tear

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — for sport
  4. stem — to come from
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — steady
  7. content — happy
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — in a race
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. field — farmland
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tear — to rip
  16. field — a subject
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. firm — a company

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