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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 124 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. can — a tin
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. content — happy
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. can — to be able to
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. can — a tin
  14. field — for sport
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. content — the amount
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. field — a subject
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. fork — in a road
  22. field — farmland
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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