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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. hand — in cards
  4. game — a match
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pit — in a race
  15. kick — in football
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. content — happy
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. hand — help
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. hand — part of the body

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