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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. squash — to crush
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. field — a subject
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. squash — the sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. chair — a leader
  14. last — final
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. press — to push
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. press — newspapers
  24. sharp — clever

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