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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 116 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pass — a permit
  3. field — a subject
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — the amount
  9. field — farmland
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. row — a line
  15. field — for sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. content — happy
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitcher — a jug

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