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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. file — a line of people
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pit — in a race
  5. field — for sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — from a university
  10. file — a tool
  11. stock — goods
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — temperature
  15. field — farmland
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stock — shares
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pit — a hole

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