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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: temple · stock · bear · capital · fork · tube · field · ball

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. stock — goods
  4. field — a subject
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ball — a dance
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tube — the underground
  15. ball — a great time
  16. field — farmland
  17. tube — a container
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. field — for sport
  22. stock — shares
  23. capital — money
  24. bear — the animal

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