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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pop — soda
  3. content — the amount
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pop — to visit
  8. field — for sport
  9. press — a publisher
  10. pass — a permit
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. season — in sport
  13. row — a line
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. field — farmland
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. row — to paddle
  21. season — of the year
  22. pop — music
  23. field — a subject
  24. content — videos and posts

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