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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wound — an injury
  6. current — of water
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. current — happening now
  9. content — the amount
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. current — electric
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitch — completely
  21. present — the time now
  22. mate — to breed
  23. content — videos and posts
  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