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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — shares
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. firm — a company
  9. field — for sport
  10. game — wild animals
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. field — farmland
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stock — goods
  15. firm — decided
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. game — a match
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. hand — in cards
  21. firm — steady
  22. plane — a tool
  23. swing — to play on
  24. foot — the bottom

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