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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · field · row · squash · perch · fork · degree · stock

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mate — to breed
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. degree — temperature
  5. row — to paddle
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stock — shares
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fork — in a road
  13. field — a subject
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mate — a partner
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. perch — the fish
  20. row — a line
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — goods
  24. squash — the 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