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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. stock — goods
  8. land — a country
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. land — to come down
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. field — for sport
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. field — a subject
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. game — a match
  21. land — ground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. racket — for tennis

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