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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. current — of water
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. kid — child
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. field — for sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. kick — in football
  12. current — happening now
  13. field — a subject
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. capital — a city
  16. current — electric
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — money
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. season — of the year
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kick — with a leg

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