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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — child
  6. suit — clothes
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — of a king
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bark — to shout
  11. march — the month
  12. content — happy
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. court — of law
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. suit — to fit
  21. pit — a hole
  22. suit — in cards
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pit — in a race

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