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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — a subject
  3. content — happy
  4. field — farmland
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. present — a gift
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. present — there
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. present — the time now
  17. field — for sport
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bank — for 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