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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. land — ground
  3. toast — bread
  4. board — a committee
  5. field — a subject
  6. content — the amount
  7. fall — to drop
  8. game — wild animals
  9. field — farmland
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. land — to come down
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. board — to get on
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. land — a country
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wind — moving air
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. content — happy
  24. game — a match

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