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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cue — for pool
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. field — for sport
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. deal — to handle
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cue — a hint
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tear — from crying
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. field — a subject
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — to rip
  24. field — farmland

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