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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: foot · stock · rock · field · rule · land · last · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rule — a law
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. last — finally
  5. field — for sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. land — to come down
  12. stock — goods
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — ground
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. stock — shares
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — a country
  24. last — final

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