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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mate — to breed
  4. field — a subject
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. stock — goods
  8. mate — a partner
  9. stock — shares
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. field — for sport
  14. plane — a tool
  15. rule — government
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wind — moving air
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — to rule out

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