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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. lean — to bend
  3. field — farmland
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — thin
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. field — for sport
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stand — to bear
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. content — happy
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. roll — a list
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. content — the amount

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