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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. snap — to click
  6. scale — in music
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. cue — for pool
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cue — a signal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cue — a hint
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. pit — in a race
  24. root — the cause

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