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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. press — a publisher
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. ground — crushed
  5. content — happy
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. season — in sport
  8. sharp — clever
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. press — newspapers
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. ground — a position
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. press — to push
  23. ground — the earth
  24. row — a quarrel

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