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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. content — the amount
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. stock — shares
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. mate — a partner
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. scale — in music
  11. pound — a weight
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. pit — a hole
  14. content — happy
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stock — goods
  18. mate — a friend
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cold — not warm
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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