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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. game — a match
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — goods
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wax — to grow
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. field — for sport
  12. march — music
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rush — hurry
  17. field — a subject
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — shares
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wax — in the ear

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