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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: wake · field · root · bear · cell · bank · capital · spring

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. capital — money
  2. cell — in biology
  3. root — of a word
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. spring — the season
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cell — a phone
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — the cause
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — a subject
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bank — of a river
  17. spring — of water
  18. bank — for money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bear — the animal
  21. field — farmland
  22. bank — for money
  23. capital — a city
  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