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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: cell · field · squash · date · content · stem · wave · coach

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. field — farmland
  4. squash — to crush
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. squash — the sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. date — the fruit
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cell — in biology
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cell — a phone
  24. stem — a stem cell

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