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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bound — certain
  3. court — of a king
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. stem — to come from
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — happy
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chip — for betting
  13. field — a subject
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. toast — bread
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. field — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. pound — a weight

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