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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stock — goods
  6. season — in sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. present — the time now
  9. field — a subject
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. present — there
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. bound — certain
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — for sport
  23. stock — shares
  24. present — a gift

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