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

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. pit — a hole
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — from crying

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