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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  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. pop — to visit
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pop — soda
  5. last — finally
  6. fall — the season
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. stock — shares
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — to go on
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — a subject
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. key — in music
  17. field — for sport
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. last — final
  20. cell — in biology
  21. key — the most important part
  22. pop — music
  23. key — for a lock
  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