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

Word bank: ruler · field · pit · cell · content · season

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

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. field — farmland
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. field — for sport
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. season — in sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. pit — in a race
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  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