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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 116 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: mate · stem · bound · cap · mug · bank · field · game

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mug — a face
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bank — for money
  7. mate — a partner
  8. field — for sport
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bank — for money
  16. game — a match
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a cup
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. field — farmland
  23. bank — of a river
  24. field — a subject

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