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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 124 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. mug — a cup
  3. season — in sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. swing — music
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mug — a face
  12. spring — a coil
  13. face — part of the head
  14. scale — in music
  15. mug — to rob
  16. spring — of water
  17. face — to point toward
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. face — to confront
  22. field — farmland
  23. season — of the year
  24. field — a subject

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