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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
468
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: club · kid · stem · chest · fan · bound · field · roll

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bound — tied together
  4. field — farmland
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bound — certain
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. roll — a cake
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — for golf
  13. roll — a list
  14. club — for dancing
  15. field — for sport
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. club — a group
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bound — obliged
  23. kid — child
  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