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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. field — for sport
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. plane — a tool
  6. rest — a break
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — to crush
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stock — goods
  11. rest — what's left
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. field — farmland
  22. wake — a trail
  23. squash — the sport
  24. field — a subject

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