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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. net — in sport
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — high quality
  5. stock — goods
  6. content — happy
  7. track — a song
  8. net — after costs
  9. field — for sport
  10. track — a path
  11. fine — all right
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. last — finally
  14. net — for catching
  15. content — the amount
  16. stock — shares
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. field — a subject
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. track — to keep track

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