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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. object — an aim
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. content — the amount
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — happy
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. root — of a plant
  16. object — a thing
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bass — low music
  21. object — to protest
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. field — a subject
  24. straw — a straw man

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