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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. object — to protest
  3. season — of the year
  4. can — a tin
  5. pitch — completely
  6. net — in sport
  7. season — in sport
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — after costs
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. object — a thing
  18. can — a tin
  19. net — for catching
  20. object — an aim
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wind — moving air
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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