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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. content — the amount
  3. field — a subject
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. scale — in music
  6. club — a group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — farmland
  9. club — for golf
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. staff — a stick
  13. scale — size or range
  14. staff — employees
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — for dancing
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. content — happy
  24. tear — to rip

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