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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — a subject
  5. saw — the tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — a stick
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. scale — size or range
  12. saw — the tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. content — the amount
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. content — happy
  19. game — a match
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. scale — in music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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