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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mate — a partner
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rest — a break
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitch — completely
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kick — in football
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. content — happy
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. pit — a hole
  20. dip — to sink
  21. content — the amount
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. pit — in a race

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