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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. dip — to sink
  5. hand — in cards
  6. content — happy
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. saw — the tool
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. field — farmland
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. sharp — clever
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. craft — boats
  23. dip — to dunk
  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