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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. field — for sport
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitch — completely
  14. charge — electricity
  15. mine — for digging
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — a price
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mark — a trace
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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