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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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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: sharp · hand · chest · season · plane · stem · lie · field

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — a subject
  3. lie — to recline
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — in sport
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. chest — a box
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. field — for sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. sharp — clever
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. field — farmland
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. hand — help

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