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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cold — not warm
  5. present — a gift
  6. march — the month
  7. field — for sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. content — the amount
  10. pitch — completely
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ground — the earth
  15. present — the time now
  16. content — happy
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. march — music
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — farmland
  24. present — there

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