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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rest — a break
  4. pit — in a race
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. net — in sport
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. land — to come down
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — a position
  16. firm — steady
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rest — what's left
  22. content — the amount
  23. pit — a hole
  24. chest — of your body

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