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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: track · bowl · cold · bass · safe · field · patient · stock

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bass — low music
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. field — farmland
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stock — shares
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stock — goods
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. field — a subject
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. field — for sport
  24. bowl — to roll

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