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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: present · chest · mouse · pit · deal · jam · content · file

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a hole
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. content — happy
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. file — a tool
  12. deal — to handle
  13. chest — a box
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. content — the amount
  17. present — a gift
  18. file — a line of people
  19. present — there
  20. file — a document
  21. chest — of your body
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. present — the time now
  24. mouse — for a computer

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