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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. field — farmland
  3. can — a tin
  4. court — of law
  5. firm — a company
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — a subject
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. firm — steady
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. court — of a king
  16. can — a tin
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. court — for sport
  20. firm — decided
  21. field — for sport
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. can — to be able to

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