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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. track — a song
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stock — goods
  12. craft — boats
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. field — a subject
  15. wound — an injury
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. stock — shares
  18. board — to get on
  19. snap — to click
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. craft — a skill

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