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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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Word bank
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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: pit · content · season · mate · perch · ground · swing · chest

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. ground — a position
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. swing — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chest — of your body
  12. swing — in golf
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. season — of the year
  15. pit — in a race
  16. season — in sport
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chest — of your body
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. swing — to play on
  21. chest — a box
  22. mate — a partner
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mate — a friend

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