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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 116 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: pit · bowl · sharp · rest · staff · stem · bat · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pit — a hole
  9. rest — a break
  10. stem — to come from
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. sharp — clever
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. staff — employees
  17. content — the amount
  18. staff — employees
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pit — in a race
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bowl — a football final

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