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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. court — of law
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. stock — shares
  7. bore — to drill
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitch — completely
  10. field — farmland
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. scale — size or range
  13. march — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bore — to tire
  17. court — of a king
  18. scale — in music
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. court — for sport
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. field — for sport

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