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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stock — shares
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bass — the fish
  9. cell — in biology
  10. field — a subject
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bass — low music
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — farmland
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. date — the fruit
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. mouse — the animal

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