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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. field — for sport
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stock — shares
  9. tear — from crying
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tear — to rip
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. field — farmland
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. spring — of water
  19. field — a subject
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. foot — a measure
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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