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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. field — a subject
  3. stock — shares
  4. wind — moving air
  5. present — there
  6. drill — army training
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. net — in sport
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. stock — goods
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — a practice
  17. present — the time now
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. net — for catching

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