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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bank — for money
  5. net — after costs
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mine — for digging
  8. press — newspapers
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. content — happy
  11. net — for catching
  12. bank — of a river
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — in sport
  17. bank — for money
  18. pit — a hole
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. press — to push
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. press — a publisher
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. last — final

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