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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: bark · stem · field · bass · rash · game · lean · land

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. field — farmland
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bass — low music
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. land — to come down
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. field — for sport
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rash — on the skin

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