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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. content — the amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. field — farmland
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. field — a subject
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. rock — a stone
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rock — music
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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