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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. net — after costs
  4. field — a subject
  5. net — in sport
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cell — in biology
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. face — to confront
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. object — an aim
  13. face — to point toward
  14. field — for sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. object — to protest
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. field — farmland
  24. object — a thing

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