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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. track — a song
  4. net — in sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. net — for catching
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. content — the amount
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — farmland
  13. track — a path
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. net — after costs
  16. content — happy
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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