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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mate — a friend
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mate — a partner
  10. field — a subject
  11. season — of the year
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rash — a series
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — farmland
  21. mate — to breed
  22. season — in sport
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. spring — the season

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