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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — help
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. season — of the year
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bass — the fish
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. content — the amount
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. field — for sport
  13. bass — low music
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. field — farmland
  18. stand — to bear
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. season — in sport
  23. field — a subject
  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