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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: suit · chest · field · stem · tube · kick · stock · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. field — a subject
  3. tube — a container
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stock — shares
  6. field — for sport
  7. suit — to fit
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — farmland
  11. cell — a phone
  12. suit — clothes
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. suit — in cards
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stock — goods
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chest — of your body

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