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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. land — a country
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. field — farmland
  9. land — to come down
  10. stock — goods
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. field — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cap — a hat
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bass — low music
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stock — shares
  24. field — a subject

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