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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — a subject
  3. track — a song
  4. club — for golf
  5. degree — from a university
  6. field — farmland
  7. track — to keep track
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. club — a group
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitch — completely
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. field — for sport
  16. suit — clothes
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — to fit
  22. degree — temperature
  23. track — a path
  24. content — the amount

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