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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. spell — a short time
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. field — farmland
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spell — letters
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stock — goods
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — a box
  15. field — a subject
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — magic
  19. pop — music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. key — the most important part
  22. deal — to handle
  23. chest — of your body
  24. key — in music

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