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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mark — a trace
  3. net — in sport
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. field — a subject
  6. land — to come down
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. land — a country
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fine — all right
  11. content — happy
  12. land — ground
  13. fine — high quality
  14. net — for catching
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. net — after costs
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mark — a grade
  21. content — the amount
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. spring — of water
  24. bowl — to roll

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