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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: stem · field · cap · bark · march · wind · racket · pop

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. field — farmland
  6. cap — a hat
  7. field — for sport
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a lid
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pop — soda
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pop — to visit
  17. stem — to come from
  18. march — music
  19. pop — music
  20. field — a subject
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stem — a stem cell

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