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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fine — high quality
  6. swing — music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. field — for sport
  9. kid — child
  10. field — a subject
  11. stock — goods
  12. chip — for betting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. swing — in golf
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. swing — to play on
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. field — farmland
  23. fine — all right
  24. chip — to eat

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