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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. tube — a container
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cue — for pool
  5. season — in sport
  6. cue — a hint
  7. content — happy
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. last — final
  10. shower — rain
  11. pit — in a race
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pit — a hole
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cue — a signal
  16. pitch — completely
  17. content — the amount
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. tube — the underground
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — to wash
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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