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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. object — to protest
  7. deal — to handle
  8. rush — hurry
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. object — an aim
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. content — the amount
  21. object — a thing
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bowl — a dish

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