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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 116 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: land · stem · hand · tube · field · wound · craft · firm

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — a subject
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. wound — an injury
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. land — a country
  11. craft — a skill
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. firm — decided
  16. field — farmland
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — steady
  19. hand — help
  20. field — for sport
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tube — the underground
  23. craft — boats
  24. stem — of a plant

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