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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: kid · bay · plane · field · fan · stem · leaves · band

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. kid — child
  5. field — farmland
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. field — for sport
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. stem — to come from
  13. band — a ring
  14. kid — to tease
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. field — a subject
  20. band — a music group
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. stem — of a plant

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