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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — happy
  4. net — for catching
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bark — to shout
  8. chip — for betting
  9. season — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. net — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rest — a break
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. scale — in music
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. content — the amount
  24. chip — to eat

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