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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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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: kid · field · face · stem · stand · mate · bat · cap

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. field — a subject
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stem — to come from
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. field — farmland
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cap — a hat
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. mate — a partner
  19. kid — child
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mate — to breed
  23. field — for sport
  24. cap — a lid

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