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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. content — happy
  9. key — the most important part
  10. clip — to cut
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. lean — to bend
  15. key — for a lock
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. lean — thin
  22. clip — a video
  23. court — of law
  24. key — in music

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