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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — a subject
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rest — what's left
  21. season — of the year
  22. lie — to recline
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — for catching

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