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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. roll — a cake
  3. hand — help
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. roll — a list
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pit — in a race
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. hand — in cards
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. stand — to bear

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