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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — music
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rash — a series
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rock — a stone
  11. drill — army training
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pit — in a race
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rash — on the 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