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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: toast · cue · land · field · tear · stock · temple · pitcher

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stock — shares
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — ground
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. land — a country
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. toast — bread
  23. cue — a hint
  24. field — for sport

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