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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. net — for catching
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. object — a thing
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — an amount
  16. prune — to trim
  17. net — after costs
  18. object — to protest
  19. prune — to trim
  20. field — a subject
  21. object — an aim
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stock — goods
  24. net — in sport

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