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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 116 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. march — the month
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — a subject
  5. present — a gift
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. chip — for betting
  11. march — music
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. present — the time now
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chip — to eat
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. march — the month
  19. season — in sport
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. present — there
  24. fork — to eat with

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