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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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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: wind · craft · last · stem · toast · field

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. last — finally
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. field — a subject
  6. last — final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — farmland
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — boats
  14. field — for sport
  15. stem — to come from
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. stem — of a plant

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