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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: mate · board · content · bat · ball · mug · craft · field

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — to rob
  4. field — for sport
  5. board — a committee
  6. field — a subject
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bat — the animal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. ball — a dance
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mug — a face
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. board — to get on
  16. content — the amount
  17. craft — a skill
  18. mate — a partner
  19. field — farmland
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. content — happy
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — to breed
  24. craft — boats

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