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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cell — a phone
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. tube — a container
  9. content — happy
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. field — a subject
  12. content — the amount
  13. stock — goods
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tube — the underground
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. field — farmland
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stock — shares
  24. cell — in a prison

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