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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. pound — a weight
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. can — to be able to
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. content — happy
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. field — a subject
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. content — the amount
  14. field — for sport
  15. race — humankind
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. can — a tin

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