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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 120 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. drill — the tool
  11. field — a subject
  12. content — happy
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. drill — army training
  16. content — the amount
  17. field — farmland
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — for sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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