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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. march — the month
  6. field — farmland
  7. rash — a series
  8. field — a subject
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fine — high quality
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stock — shares
  16. march — music
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. bore — to tire
  22. march — the month
  23. stock — goods
  24. fine — all right

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