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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rash — a series
  3. lean — thin
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. net — after costs
  6. rash — hasty
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. net — in sport
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. net — for catching
  24. date — the fruit

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