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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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. lean — to rest against
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. suit — in cards
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. content — the amount
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. suit — clothes
  16. fine — all right
  17. suit — to fit
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. lean — thin
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. lean — to bend
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. content — videos and posts

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