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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. land — a country
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. drill — army training
  5. field — farmland
  6. firm — steady
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stock — goods
  11. land — to come down
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. field — for sport
  15. drill — a practice
  16. firm — decided
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. land — ground
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. firm — a company
  24. field — a subject

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