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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. field — for sport
  6. drill — army training
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. shower — rain
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. field — a subject
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — boats
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. suit — in cards
  19. field — farmland
  20. race — the arms race
  21. content — the amount
  22. suit — clothes
  23. suit — to fit
  24. pitch — completely

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