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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. field — farmland
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. object — to protest
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. content — the amount
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. object — a thing
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pound — a weight
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. content — happy
  24. pass — a permit

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