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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 locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stock — shares
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. game — a match
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. game — wild animals
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cell — a phone
  9. perch — the fish
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. field — for sport
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. field — farmland
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — to bear
  17. hand — help
  18. cell — in biology
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — goods
  22. field — a subject
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. nail — for a hammer

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