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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. staff — employees
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pitch — completely
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. scale — in music
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — happy
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. staff — employees
  17. cue — a hint
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — the amount
  21. field — farmland
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. field — a subject

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