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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: swing · spell · bore · field · root · band · stem · capital

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. capital — money
  3. swing — in golf
  4. stem — to come from
  5. field — a subject
  6. spell — letters
  7. band — a music group
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. bore — to tire
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. capital — a city
  13. spell — a short time
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. field — for sport
  16. spell — magic
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. root — the cause
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. band — a ring
  23. field — farmland
  24. stem — of a plant

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