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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. field — farmland
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. content — the amount
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. field — a subject
  16. cap — a hat
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cap — a lid
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. mark — a grade
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — for sport
  24. bat — for baseball

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