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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. season — in sport
  3. band — a ring
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. content — happy
  7. band — a music group
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. spring — a coil
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. season — of the year
  18. spring — the season
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. content — the amount
  24. calf — of the leg

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