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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — in sport
  8. pass — a permit
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. chest — a box
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. ball — a great time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — after costs
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. game — a match
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. wound — an injury
  24. content — happy

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