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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · degree · field · staff · march · mine · arm · stem

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. staff — employees
  7. march — the month
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. staff — a stick
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. degree — temperature
  19. field — farmland
  20. march — music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. arm — a part of something

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