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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: wake · present · field · march · bass · wound · cue · stem

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. present — a gift
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cue — a signal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — a trail
  11. present — the time now
  12. field — for sport
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bass — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. field — a subject
  20. present — there
  21. bass — low music
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. stem — to come from

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