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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. lean — thin
  4. field — for sport
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. toast — bread
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. content — happy
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. sharp — clever
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. lean — to bend
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — a subject
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. content — the amount
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. sharp — exactly

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