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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. field — farmland
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mate — to breed
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. field — a subject
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. staff — employees
  16. net — in sport
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. staff — a stick
  20. net — after costs
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — a match
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — a partner

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