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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. season — of the year
  4. snap — to click
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. season — in sport
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pass — a permit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy

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