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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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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 · snap · stem · land · chair · rock · mark · straw

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — a country
  5. mark — a trace
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. rock — music
  8. mark — a grade
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. field — a subject
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. land — to come down
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. field — for sport
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. rock — a stone
  22. land — ground
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. snap — to click

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