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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · ball · spring · hide · wind · field · march · season

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spring — the season
  3. season — of the year
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. march — the month
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. field — farmland
  14. spring — of water
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ball — a dance
  17. field — for sport
  18. ball — a great time
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — a subject
  22. season — in sport
  23. march — music
  24. hide — to keep secret

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