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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rock — a stone
  5. band — a ring
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. root — the cause
  10. rock — music
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. stock — shares
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. band — a music group
  18. root — of a plant
  19. stock — goods
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. root — of a word
  23. pitch — completely
  24. field — for sport

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