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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stock — shares
  3. track — a song
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — for pool
  7. track — to keep track
  8. field — a subject
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pop — music
  11. capital — money
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. field — for sport
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. capital — a city
  19. pop — soda
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cue — a signal
  22. stock — goods
  23. track — a path
  24. pop — to visit

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