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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: stem · coach · content · jam · field · spell · mine · fan

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — the amount
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. field — farmland
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. field — a subject
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spell — a short time
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — magic
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. spell — letters
  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