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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. key — the most important part
  4. net — after costs
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — for catching
  10. content — the amount
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — from crying
  13. key — for a lock
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. net — in sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pitch — completely
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. key — in music
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. sharp — clever
  24. tear — from crying

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