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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bass — the fish
  4. ground — crushed
  5. field — farmland
  6. craft — boats
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. craft — a skill
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bass — low music
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. foot — a measure
  17. land — ground
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. stock — shares
  20. land — to come down
  21. stock — goods
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — a country
  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