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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. trunk — of a tree
  2. ground — a position
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. content — the amount
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pound — a weight
  15. field — a subject
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pit — a hole
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pit — in a race
  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