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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.

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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: fan · mine · field · bank · cell · stand · straw · stem

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bank — for money
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. field — a subject
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. field — for sport
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bank — of a river
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. field — farmland
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bank — for money
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stem — to come from

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