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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stock — shares
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — for sport
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. field — a subject
  9. rock — a stone
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — in sport
  15. dip — to sink
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. last — final
  22. rock — music
  23. stock — goods
  24. safe — out of danger

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