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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. content — the amount
  3. can — a tin
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. content — happy
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bass — low music
  8. season — in sport
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rush — hurry
  11. season — of the year
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. swing — music
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. can — a tin
  21. bass — the fish
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. can — to be able to
  24. kid — child

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