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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. land — ground
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. land — a country
  10. bulb — for light
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mine — for digging
  15. field — for sport
  16. content — happy
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pass — a permit
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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