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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 116 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. field — a subject
  8. track — a song
  9. ground — a position
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stock — shares
  15. press — a publisher
  16. field — for sport
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. field — farmland
  24. track — a path

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