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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — ground
  3. mark — a trace
  4. land — a country
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. season — of the year
  8. chip — to eat
  9. field — a subject
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. field — for sport
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mark — a grade
  15. tube — the underground
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. content — the amount
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. land — to come down
  24. content — videos and posts

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