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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: kid · stem · field · rest · bass · march · nail · saw

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. stem — to come from
  3. saw — the tool
  4. march — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. march — the month
  7. rest — what's left
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bass — low music
  11. kid — child
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. march — the month
  18. kid — to tease
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. nail — on a finger

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