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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. field — farmland
  4. ground — a position
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. object — to protest
  7. stock — goods
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. object — a thing
  13. field — a subject
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mark — a grade
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. firm — steady
  19. stock — shares
  20. mark — a trace
  21. object — an aim
  22. ball — a great time
  23. firm — decided
  24. bat — in an idiom

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