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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. field — for sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. content — happy
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. content — the amount
  16. game — a match
  17. rush — hurry
  18. field — farmland

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