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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: staff · fork · net · pit · wake · straw · content · kick

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. net — for catching
  5. content — happy
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. staff — employees
  8. net — after costs
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pit — a hole
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. staff — a stick
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. staff — employees
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pit — in a race
  19. net — in sport
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. kick — in football
  23. fork — in a road
  24. content — the amount

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