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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. court — of law
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. stock — goods
  5. rush — hurry
  6. field — for sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. stock — shares
  10. stem — to come from
  11. plane — a tool
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. court — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. bat — the animal
  24. court — of a king

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