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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. court — for sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. scale — size or range
  6. court — of a king
  7. field — for sport
  8. current — electric
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. field — farmland
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. stock — goods
  16. chip — to eat
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chip — for betting
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. scale — in music
  21. court — of law
  22. field — a subject
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. ground — crushed

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