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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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. field — a subject
  4. content — happy
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bank — for money
  7. swing — in golf
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. snap — to click
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bank — for money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — to play on
  16. field — for sport
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bank — of a river
  20. squash — the sport
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. swing — music

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