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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. field — a subject
  3. row — to paddle
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. suit — in cards
  6. current — happening now
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. current — electric
  9. stock — goods
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. field — for sport
  13. suit — to fit
  14. date — the fruit
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bat — the animal
  17. field — farmland
  18. stock — shares
  19. row — a line
  20. saw — the tool
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. current — of water
  23. suit — clothes
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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