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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · swing · content · season · pitcher · trunk · rest · cell

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — in biology
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. season — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. swing — music
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rest — what's left
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cell — a phone
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. season — of the year
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rest — a break
  24. trunk — of a car

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