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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. content — the amount
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. content — happy
  8. field — farmland
  9. prune — to trim
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. season — of the year
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. field — for sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spell — letters
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. field — a subject
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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