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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — a subject
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bulb — for light
  7. swing — in golf
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. swing — music
  10. field — farmland
  11. scale — in music
  12. pitch — completely
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. scale — size or range
  17. branch — a division
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. field — for sport
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stock — a soup base

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