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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. plane — a tool
  3. field — a subject
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. shower — to wash
  6. saw — the tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — a contest
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. race — the arms race
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — rain
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. stock — goods
  22. field — farmland
  23. race — humankind
  24. saw — the tool

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