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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 124 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. content — happy
  5. present — a gift
  6. content — the amount
  7. season — of the year
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mark — a trace
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. present — the time now
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rest — a break
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. season — in sport
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bowl — a football final

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