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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. kick — in football
  5. content — happy
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. spell — letters
  10. pit — a hole
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. pit — in a race
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spell — magic
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts

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