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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. season — in sport
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lean — thin
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. season — of the year
  17. content — happy
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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