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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. content — happy
  8. mug — to rob
  9. date — the fruit
  10. present — the time now
  11. field — farmland
  12. present — a gift
  13. spring — of water
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. field — for sport
  16. foot — a measure
  17. spring — the season
  18. mug — a cup
  19. spring — a coil
  20. content — the amount
  21. present — there
  22. mug — a face
  23. field — a subject
  24. content — videos and posts

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