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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · leaves · net · field · foot · bass · wound · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. field — a subject
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. field — for sport
  7. net — in sport
  8. bass — low music
  9. stem — to come from
  10. net — after costs
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. field — farmland
  19. foot — a measure
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. net — for catching
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bass — the fish

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