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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 · scale · stock · tear · spring · game · land · racket

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. scale — size or range
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spring — of water
  6. tear — to rip
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stock — goods
  9. scale — in music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. land — to come down
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. stock — shares
  16. field — a subject
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a match
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. field — for sport
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. field — farmland

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