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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. swing — music
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — a subject
  7. present — the time now
  8. charge — in control
  9. content — the amount
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — farmland
  12. tear — to rip
  13. charge — electricity
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — happy
  18. charge — a price
  19. pitch — completely
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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