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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stock — shares
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spring — the season
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stock — goods
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. root — the cause
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fine — all right
  18. spring — of water
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cap — a hat
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. spring — a coil

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