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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stock — goods
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mate — to breed
  10. capital — money
  11. field — for sport
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. plane — a tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mate — a friend
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. board — a committee
  19. field — farmland
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. field — a subject
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. board — to get on

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