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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — a video
  5. kick — in football
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. content — happy
  9. clip — to cut
  10. content — the amount
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — in a race
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — for paper
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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