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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. sharp — clever
  3. field — farmland
  4. cell — a phone
  5. field — a subject
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cap — of ice
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stock — shares
  16. suit — clothes
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cap — a hat
  22. field — for sport
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bass — the fish

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