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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. kick — in football
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. sharp — clever
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pit — in a race
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bat — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rock — music
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. content — the amount
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rock — a stone

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