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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tear — to rip
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — to drop
  15. row — a line
  16. stock — shares
  17. fall — the season
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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