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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. track — a path
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. content — the amount
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. spring — of water
  14. field — a subject
  15. content — happy
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — for sport
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. pit — in a race
  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