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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. field — farmland
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — the underground
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — to crush
  11. field — a subject
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. tear — from crying
  15. current — electric
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. current — of water
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tube — a container
  24. current — happening now

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