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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 116 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. season — in sport
  3. stock — shares
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — to rip
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. field — for sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — farmland
  13. can — to be able to
  14. rest — a break
  15. fall — the season
  16. rest — what's left
  17. net — for catching
  18. season — of the year
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — a subject
  24. net — in sport

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