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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rock — a stone
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — music
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stock — shares
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. stock — goods
  18. capital — a city
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. shower — rain
  24. mouse — for a computer

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