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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · content · chair · pit · tear · bowl

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. content — happy
  7. field — a subject
  8. content — the amount
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pit — in a race
  14. field — farmland
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pit — a hole

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