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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. press — a publisher
  3. field — a subject
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. spell — magic
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spell — a short time
  9. game — a match
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. key — the most important part
  12. game — wild animals
  13. key — for a lock
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitch — completely
  16. press — to push
  17. field — farmland
  18. key — in music
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. field — for sport
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — letters
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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