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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pit — a hole
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pit — in a race
  8. toast — bread
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pop — music
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a document
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. file — a tool

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