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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. content — the amount
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. season — of the year
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. content — happy
  16. pitch — completely
  17. root — the cause
  18. season — in sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. season — to add flavour

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