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

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pit — in a race
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. season — in sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. net — for catching
  9. wind — moving air
  10. net — in sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. net — after costs
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rash — a series
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wind — to turn a key

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