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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. lean — thin
  4. kid — child
  5. lean — to bend
  6. content — the amount
  7. band — a ring
  8. stand — to bear
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. field — for sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rock — music
  19. content — happy
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. field — a subject
  24. rock — a stone

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