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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: saw · bowl · field · stem · kick · race · kid · stick

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. field — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. race — humankind
  6. kid — child
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. field — farmland
  13. race — a contest
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — a subject
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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