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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cell — in biology
  4. board — to get on
  5. field — farmland
  6. can — a tin
  7. field — for sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. board — a committee
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. field — a subject
  16. can — a tin
  17. row — to paddle
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stock — goods
  24. board — a flat piece

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