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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 120 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: field · perch · staff · stock · pit · bowl · kid · march

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. march — the month
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stock — shares
  8. staff — employees
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pit — a hole
  12. stock — goods
  13. kid — to tease
  14. field — farmland
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. staff — employees
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pit — in a race

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