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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. bass — low music
  4. stock — goods
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. board — a committee
  7. field — for sport
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. staff — a stick
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bass — the fish
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. row — a line
  14. staff — employees
  15. row — to paddle
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. field — a subject
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — shares
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fine — all right

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