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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. content — happy
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pit — in a race
  12. chest — a box
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. chest — of your body
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. squash — the sport
  24. mine — for digging

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