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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. field — for sport
  7. chip — for betting
  8. season — of the year
  9. court — of law
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. chip — to eat
  13. stock — shares
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — for sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. field — a subject
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. season — in sport
  22. stock — goods
  23. row — a line
  24. court — of a king

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