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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.

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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. content — happy
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. clip — for paper
  6. content — the amount
  7. fine — all right
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. mug — a face
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. field — a subject
  12. mug — to rob
  13. fine — high quality
  14. mug — a cup
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — farmland
  18. content — videos and posts

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