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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — for sport
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. degree — from a university
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. degree — an amount
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. content — the amount
  24. field — farmland

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