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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: field · bore · stock · root · cell · spring · fine · mug

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. field — farmland
  2. fine — high quality
  3. field — a subject
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cell — a phone
  6. root — the cause
  7. spring — of water
  8. bore — to drill
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stock — shares
  14. mug — a face
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fine — all right
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mug — to rob
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — of a word
  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