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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. club — a group
  5. wound — an injury
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stock — goods
  8. board — to get on
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wound — an injury
  11. club — for golf
  12. field — farmland
  13. pit — in a race
  14. squash — to crush
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. club — for dancing
  19. board — a committee
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stock — shares
  22. field — for sport
  23. pit — a hole
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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