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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. drill — army training
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. content — the amount
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — in sport
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — happy
  11. wake — a trail
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a music group
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bound — obliged
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pit — a hole
  18. drill — the tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. net — after costs
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bound — certain

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