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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a music group
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. field — for sport
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. stock — shares
  8. field — farmland
  9. hand — help
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — in sport
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — a city
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stock — goods
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wake — a trail
  20. capital — money
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. season — of the year
  24. stock — a soup base

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