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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — size or range
  4. present — there
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — a subject
  8. present — the time now
  9. mate — to breed
  10. board — to get on
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. field — farmland
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. hand — help
  17. scale — in music
  18. field — for sport
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. content — the amount
  21. mate — a partner
  22. present — a gift
  23. board — a committee
  24. hand — in cards

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