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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. stock — shares
  6. board — to get on
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. squash — the sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — for sport
  13. roll — a cake
  14. board — a committee
  15. roll — a list
  16. field — a subject
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cell — in biology
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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