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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. capital — a city
  8. spring — of water
  9. march — the month
  10. net — in sport
  11. land — to come down
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — the season
  14. bark — to shout
  15. net — after costs
  16. stem — to come from
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. land — ground
  20. net — for catching
  21. land — a country
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. march — the month

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