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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: field · stem · mark · cold · game · fine · net · mouse

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. net — after costs
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. game — a match
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fine — all right
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mark — a trace
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mark — a grade
  13. field — farmland
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — to come from
  16. net — in sport
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. net — for catching
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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