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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — the amount
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pitch — completely
  18. field — for sport
  19. content — happy
  20. field — farmland
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rest — what's left
  24. field — a subject

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