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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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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: present · fork · content · wound · saw · pop · pit · kid

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pop — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pit — in a race
  8. content — happy
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. present — a gift
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kid — child
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pit — a hole
  15. present — the time now
  16. pop — soda
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pop — to visit
  19. kid — to tease
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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