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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. face — to point toward
  6. field — a subject
  7. bore — to drill
  8. stock — shares
  9. last — finally
  10. pound — a weight
  11. face — part of the head
  12. stock — goods
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. field — farmland
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. face — to confront
  17. rash — hasty
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — for sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. last — final
  24. rash — a series

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