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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bore — to drill
  5. present — a gift
  6. season — in sport
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. content — happy
  9. field — a subject
  10. bore — to tire
  11. present — the time now
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — the amount
  15. perch — the fish
  16. season — of the year
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — a box
  20. present — there
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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