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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — happy
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — a match
  11. pop — to visit
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. field — for sport
  15. staff — employees
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pound — a weight
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — wild animals
  23. content — the amount
  24. pop — music

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