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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. field — a subject
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — a trail
  10. march — music
  11. field — farmland
  12. stock — goods
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. file — a line of people
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. file — a tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. field — for sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hide — to keep secret

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