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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. race — humankind
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. field — farmland
  5. race — a contest
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. snap — to click
  8. stand — to bear
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bear — the animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. field — a subject
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. field — for sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. content — happy

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