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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 116 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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — crushed
  4. field — farmland
  5. file — a line of people
  6. field — for sport
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. suit — to fit
  10. ground — a position
  11. file — a tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. field — a subject
  14. stock — goods
  15. rest — what's left
  16. suit — in cards
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rest — a break
  20. suit — clothes
  21. perch — the fish
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stock — shares
  24. file — a document

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