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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. file — a tool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. field — a subject
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spring — of water
  8. stock — shares
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. plane — a tool
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. degree — temperature
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. file — a document
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. field — for sport
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stock — goods
  22. degree — an amount
  23. field — farmland
  24. file — a line of people

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