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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. field — a subject
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. field — farmland
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. mate — a friend
  10. kick — in football
  11. ball — a dance
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. content — happy
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mate — to breed
  18. content — the amount
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bear — the animal
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bear — to put up with

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