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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cap — a hat
  3. field — farmland
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wake — a trail
  6. can — to be able to
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stand — to bear
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. lean — thin
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. can — a tin
  22. cap — of ice
  23. can — a tin
  24. content — the amount

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