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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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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: deal · straw · stock · field · wake · land · cue · fine

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — to come down
  3. deal — to handle
  4. land — a country
  5. field — for sport
  6. fine — all right
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. stock — shares
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cue — a signal
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stock — goods
  14. cue — for pool
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cue — a hint
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. fine — high quality
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. field — a subject
  24. land — ground

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