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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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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: row · stem · wave · perch · race · field · leaves · cold

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. field — a subject
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. stem — to come from
  8. race — humankind
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. field — farmland
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cold — an illness
  17. field — for sport
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cold — not warm
  20. race — the arms race
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. race — a contest

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