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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: patient · race · stem · foot · field · band · bowl · straw

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. field — a subject
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. race — humankind
  7. band — a music group
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — for sport
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. field — farmland
  18. race — the arms race
  19. foot — a measure
  20. race — a contest
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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