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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — a subject
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. field — for sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. face — part of the head
  15. last — to go on
  16. content — happy
  17. field — farmland
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bore — to drill
  21. face — to point toward
  22. content — the amount
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. season — to add flavour

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