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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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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. court — for sport
  4. roll — a list
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. lean — thin
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. roll — a cake
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lean — to bend
  15. content — happy
  16. mark — a trace
  17. court — of law
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. net — for catching
  20. mark — a grade
  21. content — the amount
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. roll — on a roll

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