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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. object — an aim
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. land — a country
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — a group
  9. content — happy
  10. land — ground
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — to protest
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — for dancing
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. club — for golf
  19. land — to come down
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stand — to bear
  24. field — for sport

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