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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. drill — the tool
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. stock — goods
  7. rush — hurry
  8. field — for sport
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. drill — army training
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chip — to eat
  18. pound — a weight
  19. march — the month
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. field — a subject
  22. march — music
  23. stock — shares
  24. chip — for betting

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