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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 120 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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Word bank
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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pit — a hole
  5. suit — clothes
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pit — in a race
  10. suit — in cards
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cap — of ice
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cap — a hat
  17. content — the amount
  18. cap — a lid
  19. suit — to fit
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. game — a match
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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