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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lean — thin
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. content — happy
  11. track — a path
  12. stand — to bear
  13. field — for sport
  14. bass — low music
  15. kid — to tease
  16. track — to keep track
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. field — a subject
  19. content — the amount
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. kid — child
  23. lean — to bend
  24. field — farmland

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