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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mark — a trace
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mark — a grade
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. pitch — completely
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. content — happy
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — a subject
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pitch — a sports field

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