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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: swing · stock · cold · field · craft · root · fine · rule

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stock — goods
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fine — all right
  9. field — a subject
  10. root — of a word
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. craft — boats
  13. stock — shares
  14. craft — a skill
  15. swing — in golf
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. swing — music
  18. root — of a plant
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. rule — a law
  21. root — the cause
  22. rule — government
  23. fine — high quality
  24. cold — an illness

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