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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.

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: field · stem · content · mouse · craft · cold · fan · lie

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — the amount
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — for sport
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. lie — to recline
  10. craft — a skill
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. content — happy
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. craft — boats
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. field — farmland
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. field — a subject
  24. cold — the Cold War

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