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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: ball · pit · chest · row · file · content · mouse · net

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. net — in sport
  4. ball — a great time
  5. net — for catching
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. file — a document
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. file — a line of people
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. net — after costs
  18. file — a tool
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. ball — a dance

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