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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 · racket · fall · bulb · sharp · bat · mine

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. bulb — for light
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. bat — the animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — farmland
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  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