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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. content — the amount
  4. mate — a friend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. club — for golf
  12. can — a tin
  13. mate — a partner
  14. can — to be able to
  15. club — a group
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. mate — to breed
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. tear — to rip
  23. can — a tin
  24. field — a subject

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