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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. field — farmland
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. track — a path
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chip — for betting
  9. field — for sport
  10. rush — hurry
  11. field — a subject
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. kick — in football
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. track — a song
  20. chip — to eat
  21. content — the amount
  22. wax — to grow
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rest — what's left

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