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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: stem · field · jam · fan · pitch · fork · band · root

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. root — the cause
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. field — farmland
  9. root — of a plant
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. root — of a word
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fork — in a road
  15. stem — to come from
  16. field — a subject
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a music group
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. field — for sport
  23. pitch — completely
  24. band — a ring

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