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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 116 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: field · rush · stem · root · stock · squash · fork · file

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. file — a document
  3. field — a subject
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — farmland
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. root — the cause
  11. field — for sport
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. stock — goods
  16. rush — hurry
  17. fork — in a road
  18. file — a tool
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. root — of a plant
  24. squash — the sport

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