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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. toast — bread
  3. field — farmland
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. current — of water
  10. race — a contest
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. race — the arms race
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. date — the fruit
  21. field — for sport
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. field — a subject
  24. race — humankind

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