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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. mark — a grade
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. field — farmland
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mark — a trace
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — to fit
  8. content — the amount
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rule — a law
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. content — happy
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — the tool
  19. suit — clothes
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rule — government
  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