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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. field — farmland
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. prune — to trim
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spell — letters
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. snap — to click

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