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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 120 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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. field — a subject
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bore — to drill

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