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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. content — the amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — for catching
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. net — in sport
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. field — a subject
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. field — for sport
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. net — after costs
  23. content — happy
  24. can — a tin

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