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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 124 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cell — in biology
  3. band — a ring
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. field — farmland
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. season — of the year
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. pit — in a race
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. band — a music group
  17. content — the amount
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rock — music
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cell — in a prison

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