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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. ground — crushed
  3. capital — a city
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — money
  7. stock — goods
  8. pop — music
  9. rest — what's left
  10. swing — in golf
  11. field — for sport
  12. ground — a position
  13. swing — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rest — a break
  16. stock — shares
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pop — soda
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. field — a subject

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