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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. lean — thin
  3. field — farmland
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — happy
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. row — a line
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. content — the amount
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bass — low music
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mark — a grade
  22. field — a subject
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. row — to paddle

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