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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  3. content — the amount
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. club — for dancing
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. field — a subject
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. can — a tin
  14. club — for golf
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bark — to shout
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bank — for money
  20. club — a group
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. can — a tin
  23. bark — of a tree
  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