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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stock — goods
  3. file — a tool
  4. mate — a partner
  5. suit — in cards
  6. court — of law
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. file — a document
  11. court — for sport
  12. stock — shares
  13. mate — a friend
  14. field — for sport
  15. suit — to fit
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. field — a subject
  20. court — of a king
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. ball — a great time
  24. suit — clothes

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