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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. key — for a lock
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. can — a tin
  6. field — a subject
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. key — in music
  9. court — of law
  10. key — the most important part
  11. court — of a king
  12. swing — music
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. can — to be able to
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. content — happy
  21. can — a tin
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — to play on

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