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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. field — farmland
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bound — certain
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bound — tied together
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. field — a subject
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — wild animals
  21. field — for sport
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. game — a match
  24. bound — obliged

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