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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. season — of the year
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. field — a subject
  5. drill — army training
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. season — in sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. field — for sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. scale — in music
  21. dip — to sink
  22. scale — size or range
  23. drill — a practice
  24. toast — bread

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