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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rule — a law
  6. spring — the season
  7. hand — help
  8. rule — government
  9. season — in sport
  10. perch — the fish
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rash — hasty
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rash — a series
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. field — farmland
  21. spring — of water
  22. field — a subject
  23. season — of the year
  24. rule — to rule out

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