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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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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: rest · mug · stem · mine · land · hide · field · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mug — to rob
  4. land — ground
  5. field — a subject
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rest — what's left
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rest — a break
  12. field — for sport
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. land — to come down
  17. mug — a face
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. field — farmland
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — for digging
  23. land — a country
  24. wake — a trail

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