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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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Word bank
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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: bat · content · squash · sharp · mark · field · stand · tube

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stand — to bear
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mark — a trace
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. field — for sport
  9. mark — a grade
  10. content — the amount
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. content — happy
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. squash — to crush
  21. field — a subject
  22. sharp — clever
  23. squash — the sport
  24. field — farmland

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