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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — farmland
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. content — happy
  5. fine — all right
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. present — there
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — the amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. present — the time now
  18. wind — moving air
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. field — for sport
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fine — high quality
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. present — a gift

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