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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. row — to paddle
  3. date — the fruit
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. face — part of the head
  7. field — farmland
  8. stock — goods
  9. field — a subject
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — for sport
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stock — shares
  22. mark — a grade
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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