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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rest — what's left
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rest — a break
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. ground — crushed
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. content — the amount
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pit — in a race
  16. ground — the earth
  17. craft — a skill
  18. content — happy
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ground — a position
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. pit — a hole

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