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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 116 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: bat · pass · drill · club · rash · field · ball · stock

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. stock — shares
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rash — hasty
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pass — a permit
  7. ball — a great time
  8. stock — goods
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. club — for golf
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. club — a group
  22. rash — a series
  23. drill — army training
  24. field — farmland

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