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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: chest · stem · degree · wax · pit · stand · field · wake

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wake — a trail
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. field — for sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. field — farmland
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. stem — to come from
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pit — in a race
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pit — a hole

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