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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: stem · field · date · lean · safe · branch · kick · kid

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. lean — thin
  6. field — for sport
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. branch — a division
  12. kid — child
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. date — the fruit
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stem — to come from
  21. lean — to bend
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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