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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. stock — shares
  3. march — music
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. field — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. field — farmland
  8. rush — hurry
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chip — for betting
  12. stock — goods
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — a subject
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. deal — to handle
  22. spring — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. chip — to eat

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