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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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stock — shares
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spring — the season
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitch — completely
  10. spring — of water
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. field — farmland
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. field — a subject
  22. vault — a safe
  23. rash — a series
  24. spring — a coil

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