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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. roll — a cake
  4. stem — to come from
  5. race — a contest
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — in a road
  14. roll — a list
  15. toast — bread
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stock — goods
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. race — humankind
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. stock — shares
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. field — for sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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