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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fork — in a road
  5. field — farmland
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bass — low music
  8. field — for sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kick — in football
  19. ground — the earth
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stock — goods
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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