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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. sharp — clever
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. field — farmland
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. staff — employees
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. kid — child
  14. squash — to crush
  15. kid — to tease
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rock — music
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. field — for sport
  24. rock — a stone

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