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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stock — shares
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bass — low music
  7. board — a committee
  8. ground — the earth
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — crushed
  13. present — the time now
  14. branch — a division
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. bass — the fish
  18. board — to get on
  19. present — there
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. present — a gift
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ground — a position

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