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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. net — after costs
  3. shower — to wash
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. shower — rain
  7. bear — the animal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. net — for catching
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — the amount
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. net — in sport
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. content — happy
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cell — in biology
  24. season — of the year

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