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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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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: kid · net · hand · pitcher · stock · bear · field · race

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. net — in sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. net — after costs
  9. race — the arms race
  10. net — for catching
  11. race — a contest
  12. field — farmland
  13. kid — to tease
  14. race — humankind
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. stock — shares
  18. field — a subject
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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