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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. fork — in a road
  4. mate — to breed
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. content — happy
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — for sport
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. stock — goods
  12. content — the amount
  13. stock — shares
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tube — the underground
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. tube — a container
  24. kick — in football

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