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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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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. field — for sport
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. field — a subject
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. stock — shares
  17. field — farmland
  18. cell — a phone

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