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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. board — to get on
  3. drill — army training
  4. board — a committee
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. content — happy
  9. roll — a cake
  10. field — for sport
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. can — to be able to
  13. drill — the tool
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. drill — a practice
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. roll — a list
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. net — in sport
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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