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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. content — the amount
  4. season — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. content — happy
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. squash — the sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. season — of the year
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rule — government
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rule — a law
  22. rash — a series
  23. bass — the fish
  24. net — in sport

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