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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · content · net · rule · squash · pitch · cell · bulb

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cell — in biology
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. net — in sport
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bulb — for light
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bulb — for light
  22. net — for catching
  23. content — the amount
  24. rule — government

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