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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. last — final
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. stock — shares
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. spring — of water
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stock — goods
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. last — finally
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — a subject

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