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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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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: cold · rest · last · fan · field · bay · stock · chair

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stock — goods
  3. field — a subject
  4. last — to go on
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. rest — a break
  7. stock — shares
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. field — farmland
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. field — for sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — final
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chair — a leader
  24. fan — to cool the air

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