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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. court — for sport
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tube — a container
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. court — of law
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — the amount
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. court — of a king
  23. tube — the underground
  24. hide — animal skin

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