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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: swing · tear · bear · field · dip · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. field — a subject
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bear — the animal
  8. swing — to play on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. field — for sport
  11. swing — music
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bear — the animal
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. tear — from crying
  18. dip — to dunk

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