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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · shower · content · foot · jam · spring · pitch · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. foot — a measure
  5. shower — to wash
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. spring — the season
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. pitch — completely
  11. spring — a coil
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pit — in a race
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. shower — rain
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — happy
  19. spring — of water
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. game — a match
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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