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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: fork · bound · root · tube · spring · land · capital · stock

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bound — tied together
  3. spring — the season
  4. land — ground
  5. bound — certain
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. capital — money
  9. stock — goods
  10. bound — obliged
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. land — to come down
  14. fork — in a road
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. capital — a city
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. root — of a word
  23. spring — of water
  24. tube — a container

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