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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — goods
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. last — final
  9. net — for catching
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — a weight
  13. band — a music group
  14. net — after costs
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. net — in sport
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. band — a ring
  21. stock — shares
  22. last — finally
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wake — before a funeral

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