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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. field — for sport
  3. rock — a stone
  4. content — the amount
  5. charge — electricity
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. charge — a price
  8. file — a line of people
  9. key — for a lock
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. content — happy
  14. field — farmland
  15. charge — in control
  16. file — a document
  17. spell — a short time
  18. field — a subject
  19. key — in music
  20. spell — letters
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. spell — magic
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. key — the most important part

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