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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · bear · spring · stem · pop · land · capital · field

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. board — to get on
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — a subject
  7. pop — to visit
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — a committee
  10. land — ground
  11. spring — a coil
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. land — to come down
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. field — farmland
  17. pop — soda
  18. spring — of water
  19. pop — music
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. land — a country
  23. field — for sport
  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