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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. field — a subject
  4. cap — of ice
  5. dip — to sink
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cap — a lid
  8. net — in sport
  9. stock — goods
  10. cap — a hat
  11. net — for catching
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. field — farmland
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. net — after costs
  20. game — a match
  21. kick — in football
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. field — for sport
  24. game — wild animals

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