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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — farmland
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — happy
  10. field — for sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. date — the fruit
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bear — the animal
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rest — a break
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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