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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — a subject
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — farmland
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fine — all right
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bore — to tire
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bore — to drill
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mate — a friend
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. stock — goods

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