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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spell — magic
  4. stock — goods
  5. bass — the fish
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. field — a subject
  9. roll — a list
  10. plane — a tool
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. field — farmland
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. race — a contest
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bass — low music
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. race — humankind
  23. game — a match
  24. race — the arms race

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