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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: snap · bank · cell · field · stock · stem

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. field — a subject
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stock — shares
  5. bank — for money
  6. cell — in biology
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stem — to come from
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bank — for money
  12. snap — to click
  13. field — farmland
  14. stock — goods
  15. bank — of a river
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stem — a stem cell
  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