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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: stem · rush · bat · can · date · field · bowl · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. can — to be able to
  3. field — for sport
  4. can — a tin
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. field — farmland
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. can — a tin
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — a subject
  24. bowl — a dish

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