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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · capital · hand · field · rash · craft · pound · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. hand — help
  3. field — a subject
  4. pound — a weight
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rash — a series
  8. capital — money
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — in cards
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. capital — a city
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. hide — to keep secret

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