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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: kid · fine · rash · chip · field · content · bear · march

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. kid — child
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fine — all right
  6. field — a subject
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chip — to eat
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. field — farmland
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. march — the month
  15. chip — for betting
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — for sport
  22. content — happy
  23. rash — a series
  24. march — the month

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