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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — a group
  3. stock — shares
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. club — for golf
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. club — for dancing

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