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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. season — in sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. face — part of the head
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. face — to confront
  12. content — happy
  13. capital — money
  14. staff — a stick
  15. can — to be able to
  16. face — to point toward
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chest — of your body
  19. can — a tin
  20. net — in sport
  21. content — the amount
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. chest — a box

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