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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. track — a path
  3. stock — goods
  4. field — for sport
  5. firm — a company
  6. field — a subject
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. firm — decided
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. perch — the fish
  13. last — finally
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. field — farmland
  16. track — a song
  17. last — final
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. content — the amount
  20. track — to keep track
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — happy
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — lets stay

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