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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. current — happening now
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stock — shares
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. scale — size or range
  10. field — a subject
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. field — farmland
  16. current — of water
  17. field — for sport
  18. stock — goods
  19. saw — the tool
  20. current — electric
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. scale — in music
  24. mine — for digging

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