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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. field — a subject
  4. content — the amount
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. toast — bread
  8. lean — thin
  9. field — for sport
  10. content — happy
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. field — farmland
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. lean — to bend
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. prune — to trim
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. prune — to trim

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