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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 116 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. court — for sport
  5. content — happy
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. court — of a king
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. row — a line
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. content — the amount
  15. pit — in a race
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. present — a gift
  18. court — of law
  19. present — the time now
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. present — there
  22. row — to paddle
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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