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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: mouse · straw · rest · field · capital · wind · stand · stem

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — money
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — for sport
  16. stand — to bear
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. rest — a break

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