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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — there
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. present — a gift
  9. bat — the animal
  10. capital — money
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. field — a subject
  13. present — the time now
  14. prune — to trim
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — farmland
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. content — happy
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. content — the amount
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. capital — a city

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