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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. press — to push
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. content — the amount
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — after costs
  8. season — of the year
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. board — a committee
  11. press — a publisher
  12. season — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. bound — obliged
  15. net — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — happy
  18. board — to get on
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. press — newspapers

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