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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: capital · wind · rest · game · field · mark · stem · calf

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. field — a subject
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. field — for sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. game — a match
  9. mark — a trace
  10. rest — a break
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mark — a grade
  19. capital — money
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. field — farmland
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stem — to come from

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