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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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bat — the animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. toast — bread
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. field — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. toast — the most admired

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