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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 120 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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. object — to protest
  5. squash — to crush
  6. field — farmland
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bear — the animal
  9. object — a thing
  10. field — a subject
  11. tube — a container
  12. squash — the sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lie — to recline
  16. content — the amount
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. object — an aim
  20. field — for sport
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. squash — the vegetable

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