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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: cue · rash · season · rush · stock · row · field · saw

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cue — a signal
  3. rash — hasty
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. row — to paddle
  8. saw — the tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. stock — shares
  12. season — in sport
  13. cue — a hint
  14. field — farmland
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cue — for pool
  19. field — for sport
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. row — a line
  23. stock — goods
  24. rash — a series

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