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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. net — for catching
  5. present — there
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. net — in sport
  12. content — happy
  13. press — to push
  14. present — the time now
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. present — a gift
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. net — after costs
  24. calf — a young animal

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