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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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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — of water
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. kick — in football
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spell — magic
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rule — a law
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — happy
  18. hand — help
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. rule — government
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spring — the season

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