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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. field — for sport
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. can — a tin
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stock — shares
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stock — goods
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. can — a tin
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. can — to be able to
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. plane — a tool

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