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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. key — the most important part
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. net — for catching
  9. key — in music
  10. net — in sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. file — a document
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a line of people
  17. net — after costs
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. key — for a lock
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitch — completely
  22. content — happy
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. tear — from crying

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