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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. object — a thing
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — a subject
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. field — for sport
  10. bank — for money
  11. wound — an injury
  12. object — an aim
  13. stock — goods
  14. object — to protest
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. capital — a city
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. mate — a friend
  20. capital — money
  21. mate — to breed
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. capital — a big letter

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