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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. content — the amount
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. club — for dancing
  9. content — happy
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — a group
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. charge — electricity
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cold — an illness
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. charge — a price
  20. season — of the year
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. charge — in control

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