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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. ground — a position
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ground — crushed
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. ground — the earth
  10. field — for sport
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. scale — in music
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stock — shares
  17. field — a subject
  18. bear — the animal
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stock — goods
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rush — hurry

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