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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: field · stick · rush · game · fork · chair · content · band

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chair — a leader
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. rush — hurry
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. content — happy
  11. fork — in a road
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — farmland
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. game — a match
  24. rush — a thrill

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