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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pit — a hole
  4. court — for sport
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rash — a series
  8. content — the amount
  9. wound — an injury
  10. charge — in control
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. row — to paddle
  13. content — happy
  14. charge — electricity
  15. wound — an injury
  16. charge — a price
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. court — of law
  23. bat — the animal
  24. court — of a king

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