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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. field — for sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — a subject
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stock — shares
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cap — of ice
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — goods
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wind — to turn a key

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