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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 was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. bank — for money
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. court — for sport
  11. bank — for money
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. last — final
  18. track — a path
  19. field — a subject
  20. court — of law
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. bank — of a river

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