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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — goods
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — shares
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. club — a group
  8. field — for sport
  9. plane — a tool
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for golf
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. spring — a coil
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. club — for dancing
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. charge — in control
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — of water

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