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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. content — the amount
  5. suit — to fit
  6. court — of a king
  7. field — for sport
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. file — a tool
  10. suit — clothes
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — of law
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. field — farmland
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. suit — in cards
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pit — in a race
  21. file — a document
  22. court — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. pit — a hole

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