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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: chip · race · tear · stem · bowl · field

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chip — for betting
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — for sport
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. field — farmland
  17. race — the arms race
  18. field — a subject

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