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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — a short time
  4. ball — a great time
  5. root — of a word
  6. stock — shares
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — magic
  11. stock — goods
  12. root — of a plant
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spell — letters
  15. field — farmland
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. root — the cause
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. field — for sport
  24. straw — a straw man

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