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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 124 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. can — a tin
  4. fall — to drop
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — a box
  10. content — happy
  11. fall — the season
  12. chest — of your body
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. file — a tool
  15. craft — a skill
  16. file — a document
  17. craft — boats
  18. stock — shares
  19. can — to be able to
  20. stock — goods
  21. content — the amount
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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