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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: deal · chest · pitcher · field · snap · stem · wake · mate

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. field — for sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. field — farmland
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mate — a friend
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wake — a trail
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mate — to breed
  24. chest — of your body

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