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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spring — a coil
  4. firm — a company
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spring — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. field — a subject
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bass — low music
  12. firm — decided
  13. bass — the fish
  14. field — farmland
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bank — for money
  17. stock — shares
  18. firm — steady
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — of water
  22. field — for sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  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