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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stock — shares
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitch — completely
  11. field — a subject
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cap — a lid
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cap — a hat
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — for sport

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