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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. content — the amount
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. content — happy
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pit — a hole
  7. field — farmland
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pit — in a race
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. field — for sport
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. key — for a lock
  17. hand — help
  18. field — a subject
  19. season — of the year
  20. key — in music
  21. season — in sport
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pound — a weight
  24. key — the most important part

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