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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 116 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. net — for catching
  3. stock — goods
  4. field — a subject
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pit — in a race
  7. court — of a king
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. net — in sport
  10. season — in sport
  11. land — ground
  12. net — after costs
  13. field — for sport
  14. land — a country
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stock — shares
  17. court — for sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. field — farmland
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pit — a hole
  23. saw — the tool
  24. season — of the year

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