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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stock — shares
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fall — to drop
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bark — to shout
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fall — the season

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