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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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. net — for catching
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spring — a coil
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bound — tied together
  7. field — for sport
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. net — after costs
  10. bound — certain
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spring — of water
  15. stock — shares
  16. field — farmland
  17. stock — goods
  18. row — a line
  19. spring — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. net — in sport
  22. bound — obliged
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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