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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. net — in sport
  3. field — for sport
  4. spring — of water
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. stock — shares
  8. charge — in control
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. field — farmland
  12. band — a ring
  13. stock — goods
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. field — a subject
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stem — to come from
  21. charge — electricity
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — the season
  24. band — a rubber band

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