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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mark — a trace
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — wild animals
  8. track — a song
  9. stand — to bear
  10. pit — in a race
  11. fork — in a road
  12. track — a path
  13. present — the time now
  14. content — the amount
  15. present — a gift
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. present — there
  22. game — a match
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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