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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. pit — in a race
  3. season — of the year
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. content — the amount
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. drill — army training
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. shower — to wash
  12. drill — a practice
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — completely
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pit — a hole
  20. mine — for digging
  21. season — in sport
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. shower — rain
  24. content — happy

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