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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 · branch · cell · field · bowl · craft · face · kid

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. field — for sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. craft — a skill
  6. face — to point toward
  7. stem — to come from
  8. branch — a division
  9. face — to confront
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. craft — boats
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cell — a phone
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. cell — in biology
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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