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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stock — goods
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. march — the month
  7. field — for sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. capital — money
  10. march — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stock — shares
  16. capital — a city
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stem — to come from
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. date — the fruit
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. temple — a place of worship

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