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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. season — in sport
  3. last — final
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. stock — goods
  7. season — of the year
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. last — finally
  16. staff — employees
  17. last — to go on
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. staff — employees
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stock — shares
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitch — completely

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