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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rule — government
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rule — a law
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lean — thin
  16. content — happy
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. content — the amount
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mate — a partner
  24. fork — a garden tool

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