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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rest — what's left
  5. net — in sport
  6. drill — a practice
  7. plane — a tool
  8. stock — goods
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. drill — the tool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rest — a break
  16. ball — a great time
  17. net — after costs
  18. stock — shares
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. field — farmland
  21. ball — a dance
  22. net — for catching
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. drill — army training

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