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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. field — farmland
  6. stock — shares
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spring — of water
  13. bear — the animal
  14. chip — to eat
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spring — the season
  18. stock — goods
  19. spring — a coil
  20. field — for sport
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. tear — to rip

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