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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 124 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pit — a hole
  5. face — to confront
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pit — in a race
  8. game — a match
  9. swing — in golf
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. swing — music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — rain
  15. face — part of the head
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rush — hurry
  20. face — to point toward
  21. content — the amount
  22. swing — to play on
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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