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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fork — in a road
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — ground
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. field — for sport
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. land — to come down
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. land — a country
  24. content — happy

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