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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. hand — help
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. field — farmland
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. track — a song
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pass — a permit
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. track — to keep track
  14. stock — shares
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. perch — the fish
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. track — a path
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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