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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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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: trunk · content · cold · tube · current · mate · chest · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tube — the underground
  6. current — electric
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. current — happening now
  9. content — the amount
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — happy
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. current — of water
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — a container
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chest — of your body

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