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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — farmland
  4. wind — moving air
  5. present — there
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stock — goods
  11. present — the time now
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training

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