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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bark — to shout
  6. content — happy
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitch — completely
  10. field — farmland
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. drill — a practice
  16. can — a tin
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. content — the amount
  20. drill — army training
  21. can — a tin
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. can — to be able to
  24. drill — the tool

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