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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. drill — a practice
  6. tube — the underground
  7. lean — to bend
  8. season — in sport
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. swing — music
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. season — of the year
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tube — a container
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. last — finally

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