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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 · spring · mark · rush · firm · clip · patient · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mark — a grade
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. firm — decided
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rush — hurry
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spring — of water
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — a video
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mark — a trace
  18. firm — steady
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. firm — a company
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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