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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. date — the fruit
  3. field — for sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. scale — in music
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. capital — money
  10. fine — all right
  11. scale — size or range
  12. capital — a city
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bore — to tire
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bore — to drill
  19. ball — a great time
  20. field — farmland
  21. stock — goods
  22. field — a subject
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. ball — a dance

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