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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: tube · field · stem · march · cell · wound · mate · bark

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. march — the month
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mate — a friend
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. march — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tube — a container
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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