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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — farmland
  4. stock — goods
  5. field — a subject
  6. club — for dancing
  7. field — for sport
  8. rush — hurry
  9. club — for golf
  10. press — to push
  11. club — a group
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. net — in sport
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. press — a publisher
  21. net — for catching
  22. stock — shares
  23. press — newspapers
  24. net — after costs

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