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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.

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: field · degree · land · mouse · rash · season · stem · craft

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rash — hasty
  4. field — for sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. field — farmland
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. craft — a skill
  11. land — ground
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. season — in sport
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. craft — boats
  18. land — to come down
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. degree — temperature
  23. season — of the year
  24. rash — a series

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