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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. field — for sport
  3. stem — to come from
  4. field — a subject
  5. degree — temperature
  6. field — farmland
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mug — to rob
  11. snap — to click
  12. spell — letters
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. content — happy
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spell — magic
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mug — a face

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