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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: bark · stem · field · swing · race · patient · wake · mate

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mate — to breed
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. swing — in golf
  12. race — a contest
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — for sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. field — farmland
  19. race — the arms race
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wake — a trail
  23. field — a subject
  24. swing — music

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