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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — the season
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. chest — of your body
  11. field — a subject
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. stock — goods
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — a box
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. fall — to drop

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