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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 120 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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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: bank · field · drill · fork · mark · cold · stem · lie

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. field — farmland
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — a subject
  16. bank — for money
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stem — to come from
  23. field — for sport
  24. lie — to recline

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