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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pass — a permit
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. last — to go on
  7. stock — shares
  8. net — after costs
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. field — a subject
  11. root — of a word
  12. fork — in a road
  13. field — farmland
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. root — of a plant
  17. field — for sport
  18. root — the cause
  19. last — final
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. last — finally
  22. stock — goods
  23. net — in sport
  24. fork — to eat with

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