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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. club — for golf
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. field — for sport
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — for dancing
  9. stock — goods
  10. drill — the tool
  11. perch — the fish
  12. drill — a practice
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. field — farmland
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stock — shares
  18. club — a group
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. drill — army training
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wind — moving air
  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