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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. content — happy
  3. field — farmland
  4. deal — to handle
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. can — to be able to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — a subject
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bound — obliged
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bound — certain
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bound — tied together
  21. can — a tin
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. can — a tin
  24. content — the amount

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