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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. field — for sport
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a ring
  9. march — the month
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. band — a music group
  12. stock — goods
  13. march — music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stock — shares
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. field — farmland
  24. bay — a horse colour

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