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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
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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: cold · firm · stem · row · field · spell · cabinet · bank

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. firm — steady
  3. spell — a short time
  4. firm — decided
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bank — for money
  8. field — a subject
  9. spell — magic
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stem — to come from
  13. firm — a company
  14. spell — letters
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — for sport
  20. row — a line
  21. bank — for money
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bank — of a river
  24. row — to paddle

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