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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. field — for sport
  3. content — happy
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tube — a container
  6. present — there
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. field — farmland
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mark — a trace
  11. present — a gift
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mark — a grade
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. field — a subject
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. mark — to pay attention

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