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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. content — happy
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. net — in sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. press — to push
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fall — the season
  11. charge — in control
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. fall — to drop
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. press — newspapers
  17. content — the amount
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fall — to drop
  21. charge — a price
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. press — a publisher
  24. charge — electricity

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