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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. ball — a great time
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spring — a coil
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. field — farmland
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ball — a dance
  15. spring — the season
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. field — for sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. spring — of water
  21. field — a subject
  22. row — a line
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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