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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. fine — high quality
  4. season — in sport
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. season — of the year
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. fine — all right
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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