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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pit — a hole
  7. last — to go on
  8. tube — a container
  9. last — finally
  10. content — the amount
  11. tube — the underground
  12. stock — goods
  13. object — a thing
  14. stock — shares
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. object — an aim
  17. last — final
  18. content — happy
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pit — in a race
  23. object — to protest
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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