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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. season — in sport
  3. key — for a lock
  4. stock — shares
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. field — farmland
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. field — a subject
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — of water
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — the season
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitcher — a jug

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