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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. field — a subject
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fine — all right
  19. content — happy
  20. scale — in music
  21. track — a path
  22. ground — crushed
  23. track — a song
  24. straw — a straw man

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