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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. content — the amount
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. season — of the year
  10. rule — government
  11. net — for catching
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rule — a law
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. content — happy
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. race — humankind
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bark — to shout

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