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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. stock — shares
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. field — farmland
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pass — a permit
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. capital — a city
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. capital — money
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — goods
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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