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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: rock · foot · band · stock · field · bowl · craft · row

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. stock — shares
  6. rock — music
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. band — a music group
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rock — a stone
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stock — goods
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. field — farmland
  18. band — a ring
  19. foot — a measure
  20. field — a subject
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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