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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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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: object · stock · cap · swing · field · wind · rest · bay

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. object — to protest
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. field — a subject
  10. wind — moving air
  11. object — a thing
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. swing — music
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wind — moving air
  16. field — for sport
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. field — farmland
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cap — of ice
  23. swing — in golf
  24. object — an aim

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