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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. content — the amount
  5. field — a subject
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — happy
  8. field — farmland
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spell — magic
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bear — the animal
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spell — letters
  22. cell — in biology
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. field — for sport

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