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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. bore — to drill
  6. file — a tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bore — to tire
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rock — music
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. object — a thing
  15. rock — a stone
  16. object — an aim
  17. field — for sport
  18. file — a document
  19. degree — from a university
  20. field — a subject
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. file — a line of people
  24. object — to protest

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