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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. stock — shares
  4. land — ground
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. row — a line
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. row — to paddle
  9. field — a subject
  10. spell — magic
  11. land — a country
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. board — a committee
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. march — the month
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. march — music
  18. land — to come down
  19. field — for sport
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. march — the month
  23. field — farmland
  24. board — to get on

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