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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
468
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 · last · capital · board · file · drill · bowl · field

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. board — to get on
  4. field — a subject
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. stem — to come from
  7. board — a committee
  8. drill — the tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — for sport
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. capital — money
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. last — finally
  23. field — farmland
  24. file — a tool

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