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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. face — to confront
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cue — for pool
  5. pit — a hole
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cue — a signal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. face — to point toward
  14. content — the amount
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — not warm
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cue — a hint
  23. content — happy
  24. cold — an illness

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