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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. rush — hurry
  4. content — the amount
  5. can — to be able to
  6. row — to paddle
  7. content — happy
  8. object — an aim
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cue — a signal
  11. can — a tin
  12. cue — for pool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. can — a tin
  15. shower — rain
  16. cue — a hint
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. object — to protest
  21. field — farmland
  22. object — a thing
  23. row — a line
  24. rush — a thrill

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