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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stock — goods
  8. content — happy
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. spring — the season
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pit — a hole
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stock — shares
  20. net — for catching
  21. swing — music
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — in golf
  24. calf — a young animal

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