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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 116 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — in control
  10. rest — what's left
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rest — a break
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rest — what's left
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. charge — electricity
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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