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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: tear · present · spring · stock · land · mate · object · temple

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. object — an aim
  4. present — there
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. object — to protest
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stock — goods
  10. tear — to rip
  11. object — a thing
  12. stock — shares
  13. present — a gift
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. present — the time now
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. land — ground

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