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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. content — happy
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. suit — clothes
  14. field — farmland
  15. suit — in cards
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. row — a line
  22. suit — to fit
  23. content — the amount
  24. bat — for baseball

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