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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. swing — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. toast — bread
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. spring — the season
  15. stock — goods
  16. swing — in golf
  17. can — to be able to
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. swing — to play on
  20. spring — of water
  21. field — a subject
  22. can — a tin
  23. field — farmland
  24. can — a tin

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