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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 120 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: bear · bat · cap · stem · mark · hand · racket · field

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stem — to come from
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cap — of ice
  16. hand — help
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. mark — a grade
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — farmland
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. field — a subject

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