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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lean — thin
  7. ground — a position
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — a subject
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. court — of a king
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. court — for sport
  15. track — a song
  16. stock — shares
  17. track — a path
  18. stock — goods
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — for sport
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. court — of law
  23. lean — to bend
  24. wound — an injury

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