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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. field — for sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. field — a subject
  12. stock — goods
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. toast — bread
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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