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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: lean · pit · stem · march · ground · saw · field · wave

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — farmland
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — for sport
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. ground — a position
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pit — in a race
  12. field — a subject
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lean — thin
  17. pit — a hole
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. ground — the earth
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stem — a stem cell

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