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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 120 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cell — a phone
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. season — of the year
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in biology
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. season — in sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pitch — completely
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stock — shares
  23. content — happy
  24. mine — for digging

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