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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. stock — goods
  4. track — a song
  5. stock — shares
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — to come down
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. charge — a price
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. field — a subject
  16. track — a path
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bark — to shout
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — electricity
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. land — a country

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