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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pop — soda
  4. content — the amount
  5. file — a tool
  6. stock — shares
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stock — goods
  9. pit — in a race
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cap — a hat
  12. drill — the tool
  13. content — happy
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pop — music
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mate — to breed
  20. drill — army training
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cap — of ice

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