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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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468
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: wound · temple · file · field · rash · stem · march · rest

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. file — a tool
  3. rest — a break
  4. march — music
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rest — what's left
  11. march — the month
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stem — to come from
  17. file — a document
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. field — a subject
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rash — hasty
  24. file — a line of people

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