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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pop — soda
  6. content — the amount
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pop — music
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cell — in biology
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. field — for sport

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