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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pound — a weight
  3. craft — boats
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. field — a subject
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — a skill
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. field — farmland
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. field — for sport
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pitch — completely
  16. land — to come down
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. vault — a safe
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. content — the amount
  24. branch — a division

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