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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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. safe — out of danger
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. capital — money
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — goods
  12. face — to confront
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. field — farmland
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stock — shares
  19. field — for sport
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. capital — a city
  22. land — ground
  23. face — to point toward
  24. stem — to come from

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