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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: stock · wound · ruler · spell · hide · can · season · field

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — farmland
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. can — a tin
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. can — a tin
  13. field — a subject
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — magic
  16. field — for sport
  17. can — to be able to
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. stock — goods
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ruler — for measuring

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