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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. fall — the season
  9. pit — a hole
  10. content — happy
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kid — child
  24. pit — in a race

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