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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. field — a subject
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. track — a song
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. press — to push
  9. stock — goods
  10. cap — a hat
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cap — of ice
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cell — in biology
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cap — a lid
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. track — a path
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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