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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 116 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. suit — in cards
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — an illness
  9. suit — to fit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. content — the amount
  12. mate — a friend
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cold — not warm
  18. content — happy
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. suit — clothes
  21. kick — in football
  22. court — of a king
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. kick — a thrill

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