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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. content — happy
  5. field — for sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. rest — what's left
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — final
  17. field — farmland
  18. spell — letters
  19. last — finally
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. field — a subject

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