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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. object — a thing
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. bulb — for light
  9. object — to protest
  10. stock — goods
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. object — an aim
  14. stock — shares
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bulb — for light
  19. file — a document
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. march — music
  22. plane — a tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. file — a tool

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