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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. field — farmland
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — a subject
  6. fine — high quality
  7. tear — from crying
  8. club — a group
  9. swing — music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. tear — to rip
  12. content — happy
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. content — the amount
  15. fine — all right
  16. swing — to play on
  17. field — for sport
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. swing — in golf
  20. craft — a skill
  21. club — for golf
  22. bat — the animal
  23. craft — boats
  24. tear — from crying

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