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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. swing — music
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. court — of law
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. court — for sport
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. court — of a king
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — to play on
  21. track — a song
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. swing — in golf
  24. stock — shares

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