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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stock — shares
  4. last — to go on
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — final
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fine — all right
  10. field — farmland
  11. last — finally
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stock — goods
  24. field — for sport

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