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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. field — for sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. mate — to breed
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. content — the amount
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. roll — a list
  19. squash — the sport
  20. mate — a friend
  21. content — happy
  22. date — the fruit
  23. game — a match
  24. mate — a partner

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