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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. lean — to bend
  4. sharp — clever
  5. field — farmland
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rash — hasty
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. track — a song
  11. stock — goods
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stock — shares
  14. track — a path
  15. lean — thin
  16. track — to keep track
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rash — a series
  24. nail — for a hammer

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