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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. staff — a stick
  3. content — the amount
  4. field — a subject
  5. net — after costs
  6. ground — a position
  7. staff — employees
  8. net — in sport
  9. staff — employees
  10. craft — a skill
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. craft — boats
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — to cut
  18. content — happy
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — for catching
  22. bear — the animal
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. ground — crushed

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