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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. land — to come down
  3. field — farmland
  4. march — the month
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. court — of law
  8. land — ground
  9. march — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. land — a country
  13. shower — to wash
  14. fine — all right
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. shower — rain
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. march — the month
  21. court — for sport
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. court — of a king
  24. stock — a soup base

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