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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. content — happy
  3. lean — thin
  4. pitch — completely
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bark — to shout
  17. content — the amount
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. snap — to click
  24. cabinet — ministers

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