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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. court — of law
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fork — in a road
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. court — of a king
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. content — happy
  18. court — for sport
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. content — the amount
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — a hole
  24. shower — rain

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