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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  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. season — of the year
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cell — in biology
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. hand — in cards
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. content — the amount
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. content — happy
  23. pound — a weight
  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