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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pit — a hole
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. content — happy
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. row — a line
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. craft — boats
  9. cue — a signal
  10. content — the amount
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. deal — to handle
  14. row — to paddle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — for pool
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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