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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. leaves — of a tree
  2. field — farmland
  3. fine — all right
  4. stock — shares
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. fine — high quality
  8. field — a subject
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. squash — the sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. squash — to crush
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fine — a penalty
  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