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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. land — a country
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. content — happy
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bank — of a river
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. land — to come down
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. swing — music
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wake — a trail
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. swing — in golf
  24. land — ground

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