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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pass — a permit
  5. field — farmland
  6. perch — the fish
  7. race — humankind
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. race — a contest
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. stock — shares
  14. scale — in music
  15. board — to get on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. stock — goods
  20. scale — size or range
  21. court — of a king
  22. board — a committee
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pass — to spend time

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