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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: date · club · object · field · spring · pitch · content · lean

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitch — completely
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. field — a subject
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. object — a thing
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. field — for sport
  11. lean — to bend
  12. club — for golf
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. object — an aim
  15. lean — thin
  16. spring — of water
  17. object — to protest
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. club — for dancing
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. club — a group
  24. date — the fruit

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