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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.

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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: spring · tear · kid · perch · field · stock · mouse · mine

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stock — shares
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — a coil
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. field — for sport
  12. spring — of water
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spring — the season
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stock — goods
  23. kid — child
  24. perch — the fish

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