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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. field — a subject
  3. object — an aim
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. object — to protest
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bark — to shout
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. field — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stock — shares
  18. squash — to crush
  19. key — in music
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. object — a thing
  23. field — farmland
  24. key — for a lock

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