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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 · bay · chest · bat · field · fork · fine · rest

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. 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 — farmland
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fine — all right
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. field — a subject
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. rest — a break
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fork — in a road
  24. 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