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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · hand · bay · kick · pitch · row · pit · cabinet

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. pit — a hole
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. row — to paddle
  9. content — happy
  10. hand — help
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. pitch — completely
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. hand — in cards
  21. content — the amount
  22. row — a line
  23. pit — in a race
  24. kick — in football

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