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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. shower — rain
  3. fork — in a road
  4. suit — clothes
  5. field — a subject
  6. last — finally
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. suit — to fit
  9. last — final
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bat — the animal
  12. field — farmland
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. last — to go on
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. suit — in cards
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. content — the amount
  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