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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: field · hand · stem · scale · content · wake · coach · last

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. hand — in cards
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. content — the amount
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. scale — in music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. last — final
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. field — farmland
  12. scale — size or range
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wake — a trail
  15. hand — help
  16. content — happy
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. last — to go on
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. field — for sport
  22. last — finally
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. field — a subject

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