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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rash · firm · chair · field · stem · wound · squash · wake

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. field — farmland
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. firm — a company
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. firm — decided
  15. rash — a series
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — to crush
  21. firm — steady
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. squash — the sport
  24. field — a subject

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