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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. field — a subject
  3. race — a contest
  4. deal — to handle
  5. hand — in cards
  6. content — the amount
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. hand — help
  9. staff — employees
  10. season — of the year
  11. field — for sport
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — farmland
  14. content — happy
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. staff — a stick
  17. race — the arms race
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. race — humankind
  23. season — in sport
  24. content — videos and posts

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