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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. content — the amount
  3. bass — low music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. cell — a phone
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. content — happy
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. field — a subject
  16. bass — the fish
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. field — for sport
  20. cell — in biology
  21. ground — crushed
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. race — a contest
  24. bass — the instrument

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