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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: bulb · calf · chair · hide · wake · pit · rest · content

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chair — a leader
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bulb — for light
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. pit — in a race
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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