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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. field — a subject
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. hand — in cards
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. hand — help
  22. saw — the tool
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. racket — for tennis

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