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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. field — a subject
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. squash — the sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. field — farmland
  10. content — the amount
  11. wax — to grow
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. content — happy
  15. charge — in control
  16. game — a match
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. charge — a price
  19. foot — a measure
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. charge — electricity
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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