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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. field — for sport
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. content — happy
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. field — a subject
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. rush — hurry
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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