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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: bound · face · suit · game · field · chest · stem · bat

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. suit — to fit
  3. chest — of your body
  4. field — a subject
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bound — tied together
  8. game — a match
  9. bound — certain
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. face — to confront
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — to point toward
  17. suit — in cards
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. suit — clothes
  23. field — farmland
  24. chest — a box

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