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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. mate — a partner
  5. stock — goods
  6. fine — high quality
  7. hand — in cards
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. field — for sport
  10. toast — bread
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mate — a friend
  14. stock — shares
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. field — farmland
  20. squash — the sport
  21. mate — to breed
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. field — a subject
  24. hand — help

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