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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's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. field — for sport
  3. tube — a container
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bound — tied together
  7. stock — shares
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a tool
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. tube — the underground
  16. file — a document
  17. march — the month
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. field — farmland
  22. content — the amount
  23. march — music
  24. content — happy

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