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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 120 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: bat · bear · stem · cabinet · foot · wound · field · squash

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. field — a subject
  3. bear — the animal
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — the sport
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bear — the animal
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — for sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. field — farmland

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