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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. field — for sport
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. capital — a city
  8. deal — to handle
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. firm — steady
  13. content — the amount
  14. field — farmland
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. field — a subject
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. track — a path
  20. firm — a company
  21. track — a song
  22. firm — decided
  23. mine — for digging
  24. capital — money

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