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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. snap — to click
  4. branch — a division
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — shares
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — for sport
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — a subject
  14. stock — goods
  15. cue — a signal
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cue — a hint
  18. key — in music
  19. cue — for pool
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. key — the most important part
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wind — moving air

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