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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pop — soda
  4. stock — shares
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — a subject
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bass — low music
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pop — music
  21. stock — goods
  22. field — for sport
  23. spring — a coil
  24. field — farmland

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