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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 116 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: can · kid · mine · sharp · field · content · ground · pop

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. can — to be able to
  3. field — a subject
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. kid — to tease
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — soda
  10. can — a tin
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. kid — child
  13. mine — for digging
  14. can — a tin
  15. content — happy
  16. pop — music
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pop — to visit
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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