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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 · stem · pass · mark · court · field · lean · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lean — to bend
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. court — for sport
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. field — farmland
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — of a king
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. court — of law
  22. mark — a trace
  23. field — a subject
  24. stem — of a plant

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