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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rash — a series
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. field — a subject
  8. spring — the season
  9. field — for sport
  10. stock — shares
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stock — goods
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — farmland
  24. chair — to sit on

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