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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. firm — a company
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. field — farmland
  5. tube — a container
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pit — a hole
  8. field — a subject
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. vault — a safe
  12. firm — decided
  13. court — of law
  14. field — for sport
  15. tube — the underground
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. firm — steady
  18. pit — in a race
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. court — of a king
  21. mine — for digging
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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