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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. root — of a plant
  6. capital — a city
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. content — happy
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kick — in football
  12. root — the cause
  13. capital — money
  14. stock — goods
  15. pass — a permit
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. kid — child
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. root — of a word

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