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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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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: lean · nail · cap · bay · stock · wound · field · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — farmland
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cap — of ice
  7. field — for sport
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. content — the amount
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cap — a hat
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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