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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. object — to protest
  3. net — in sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. field — for sport
  6. rule — government
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — an aim
  11. stock — shares
  12. swing — to play on
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — a subject
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. object — a thing
  17. rule — a law
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. field — farmland
  21. net — after costs
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. coach — a trainer

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