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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. cap — of ice
  3. field — a subject
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — farmland
  7. content — the amount
  8. field — for sport
  9. swing — music
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. swing — to play on
  13. content — happy
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. file — a line of people

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