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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: stem · cold · field · bank · rest · racket

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — what's left
  3. field — farmland
  4. bank — of a river
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. field — a subject
  8. bank — for money
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bank — for money
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rest — a break
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. field — for sport

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