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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. stock — shares
  3. bear — the animal
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chip — for betting
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. cap — a lid
  13. stock — goods
  14. net — for catching
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chip — to eat
  17. field — farmland
  18. net — in sport
  19. object — to protest
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. object — a thing
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bear — to put up 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