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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 120 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 · stock · pit · spell · cell · ball · pound · field

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spring — the season
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spring — of water
  5. pound — a weight
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. spring — a coil
  9. field — farmland
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stock — goods
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. field — for sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stock — shares
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. field — a subject
  20. spell — magic
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pit — a hole

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