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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. present — the time now
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pop — music
  8. present — there
  9. field — a subject
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rest — a break
  14. content — the amount
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rest — what's left
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. pop — soda
  19. present — a gift
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. field — for sport
  23. mate — a friend
  24. field — farmland

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