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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bear — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. field — for sport
  6. stock — goods
  7. face — to point toward
  8. march — the month
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. face — to confront
  17. spell — letters
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. field — farmland
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. field — a subject

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