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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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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. field — a subject
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mark — a trace
  5. field — for sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. mark — a grade
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. stock — goods
  16. pop — to visit
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. stock — shares

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