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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — farmland
  4. stock — shares
  5. field — for sport
  6. squash — the sport
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. march — the month
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. march — the month
  12. field — a subject
  13. stock — goods
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. perch — the fish
  16. saw — the tool
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. march — music
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. calf — of the leg

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