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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. date — the fruit
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. field — for sport
  8. bass — the fish
  9. squash — the sport
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. field — a subject
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bass — low music
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — farmland
  18. fine — all right
  19. stock — goods
  20. capital — money
  21. bear — the animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. date — on the calendar

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