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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. content — the amount
  5. clip — for paper
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. content — happy
  8. field — for sport
  9. bore — to tire
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. present — a gift
  13. last — finally
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — final
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. present — there
  18. squash — to crush
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — to cut
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. field — farmland
  24. bore — to drill

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