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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. present — a gift
  5. field — a subject
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. chip — to eat
  8. can — a tin
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wake — a trail
  13. can — a tin
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. field — farmland
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. chip — for betting
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. can — to be able to
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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