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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. drill — army training
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pit — in a race
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pit — a hole
  14. date — the fruit
  15. current — electric
  16. content — happy
  17. drill — the tool
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. current — happening now
  21. march — the month
  22. current — of water
  23. content — the amount
  24. drill — a practice

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