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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: mate · chip · ground · field · row · spring · rush · stem

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stem — to come from
  3. field — farmland
  4. ground — the earth
  5. mate — to breed
  6. spring — the season
  7. field — for sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chip — for betting
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rush — hurry
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ground — a position
  18. mate — a partner
  19. chip — to eat
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. row — a line
  23. spring — of water
  24. rush — a thrill

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