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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — a friend
  3. craft — boats
  4. content — happy
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pit — a hole
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. content — the amount
  20. pit — in a race
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mate — a partner
  24. game — a match

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