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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. content — the amount
  4. race — a contest
  5. rush — hurry
  6. season — of the year
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. race — humankind
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pitch — completely
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. snap — to click
  24. sharp — clever

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