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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: hand · kick · bear · game · spring · stem · field · nail

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. field — for sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spring — of water
  7. stem — to come from
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spring — the season
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. field — farmland
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hand — help
  16. bear — the animal
  17. kick — in football
  18. game — a match
  19. bear — the animal
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — a subject
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. game — wild animals

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