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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. content — happy
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bore — to drill
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bore — to tire
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. content — the amount
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pit — in a race
  20. root — the cause
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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