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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spell · mine · stock · field · game · kick · content · safe

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. field — for sport
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. content — the amount
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. game — a match
  7. spell — letters
  8. field — farmland
  9. spell — a short time
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. content — happy
  13. field — a subject
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kick — in football
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. mine — for digging

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