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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: rest · field · bat · stem · ground · saw · cue · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — farmland
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cue — for pool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. stem — to come from
  10. field — a subject
  11. cue — a signal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rest — a break
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. ground — a position
  21. field — for sport
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. perch — for a bird

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