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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. field — a subject
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. field — for sport
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pit — in a race
  12. capital — a city
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pit — a hole
  15. land — ground
  16. capital — money
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bark — to shout
  24. land — to come down

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