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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: ball · racket · rule · pit · date · content · kick · kid

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. content — the amount
  5. ball — a great time
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rule — government
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kid — child
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rule — a law
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kick — in football
  15. content — happy
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kid — to tease
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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