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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bass — low music
  3. content — the amount
  4. pound — a weight
  5. field — a subject
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stock — goods
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — happy
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. field — for sport
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chest — of your body
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stock — shares
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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