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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bulb — for light
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bulb — for light
  6. field — a subject
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. field — farmland
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. field — for sport
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. game — a match

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