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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: field · race · bay · cold · calf · stock · can · stem

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stem — to come from
  3. field — for sport
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cold — not warm
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. field — farmland
  13. stock — shares
  14. can — to be able to
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — humankind
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. race — the arms race
  21. can — a tin
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — a subject
  24. calf — a young animal

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