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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. mug — a face
  5. stock — goods
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stock — shares
  8. field — for sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. face — to confront
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. mug — a cup
  16. rock — a stone
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mug — to rob
  21. game — a match
  22. face — to point toward
  23. rock — music
  24. bound — tied together

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