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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pit — in a race
  3. file — a document
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bank — for money
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bank — of a river
  14. content — the amount
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. file — a line of people
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — help
  20. file — a tool
  21. hand — in cards
  22. march — the month
  23. bank — for money
  24. march — music

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